SYMPTOMS TO BE AWARE OF

ACUTE myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a rare but aggressive type of blood cancer that affects white blood cells in the bone marrow – the spongy tissue inside the bones.

Symptoms include persistent and unexplained tiredness, bruising or bleeding and a fever, or infections such as pneumonia or urinary tract infections.

Some 2,500 Britons are diagnosed with AML each year, most over the age of 60.

Chemotherapy is the main treatment, although it may be combined with radiotherapy and a stem cell transplant.

About half of those aged under 60 who are diagnosed with AML live for at least five years.

However, there are some types of the disease which see 85 per cent of patients surviving for at least five years after diagnosis.