Mum-of-two died of rare cancer on the same day she was diagnosed
The mum believed her symtoms were due to her busy lifestyle
Leukaemia UK
Liz Taylor, a healthy mum-of-two, died of a rare form of cancer on the exact same day as she was diagnosed.
The teaching assistant had been suffering with migraines, blurred vision and fatigue.
She believed that her symptoms were due to her busy and hectic lifestyle.
The 51-year-old’s GP even suggested that she had a virus.
Her family was left devastated after her shocking diagnosis and death
Leukaemia UK
However, her symptoms quickly worsened, and she was soon admitted to hospital.
She was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of leukaemia but later that day, she passed away from her recently diagnosed disease.
The teaching assistant first started exhibiting symptoms last May, when she was working full time.
Blood tests from her GP showed she had a low blood count.
Taylor’s vision soon became blurred, and her migraines become a lot more painful.
She took herself to A&E where she was initially diagnosed with neutropenia.
Liz was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukaemia (AMPL) in July 2022.
Leukaemia UK
This occurs when people have a low number of a certain type of white blood cells.
The cause of the disease however, was unknown by medics.
Over the next few weeks after her initial diagnosis, the mum’s symptoms only got worse and worse; This included severe chest and leg pain.
MRI scans at the Leicester Royal Infirmary confirmed multiple marks on her brain. She was then immediately admitted to hospital.
At hospital, doctors thought she was suffering from a heart condition which was causing a series of strokes.
Only on July 14 last year, was she diagnosed with a rare sub-type of leukaemia, known as acute promyelocytic leukaemia (AMPL). She died later that same day.
Her widow Jonathan thinks things could have been different if her symptoms had been identified sooner.
He said: “I was searching the internet trying to understand more about APML when I came across Leukaemia UK.
“This prompted me to wish that if only I and the medical teams caring for Liz had the knowledge and foresight to identify the signs earlier, Liz could have been diagnosed sooner. Our family, in particular her two daughters, are still coming to terms with our loss, struggling to truly accept what has happened and how or why their beautiful, healthy mum was taken so young."
The cancer has been described as ‘aggressive’ and ‘rapidly-developing’ by charity Leukaemia UK.
Fatigue, repeated infections, unusual bruising and unexplained bleeding are some of the most common symptoms.