Sharn Heganthought she’d just badly hurt her back when she was lifting a concrete tile in her driveway
A personal trainer was left barely able to walk after injuring herself while doing a simple chore, unaware that it was a symptom of a deadly cancer.
“I lifted up a thin, concrete tile that was in my driveway and I didn’t expect it to be heavy,” Sharn Hegan explained. “I hurt my back by picking it up and tried to stretch it out. I’m a personal trainer and I’m used to lifting heavy weights and taking care of myself. But one week of pain turned into six and, after 12 weeks, a boss at one of the gyms that I work through urged me to see a physio.”
After consulting with a trusted physiotherapist who suspected a disc issue and prescribed exercises, Sharn initially felt relief. However, her condition took a turn for the worse one morning.
“I was up at 5.30am to train a client, but when I went to sit in my car, I couldn’t. I couldn’t sit. It was like someone was stabbing me in the back,” she said. Despite the agony, she pushed through to meet her client, only to collapse later from a sharp pain.
“Later that day, I felt this sharp pain and I sort of collapsed,” she continued. “I thought maybe it was because I have low blood pressure and I hadn’t eaten enough. But it wasn’t that. Then I went to see my physio and explained I couldn’t do any of the exercises anymore because I was in real pain.”
Sharn, battling through excruciating pain, necessitated assistance onto and off the MRI scan bed. That very night at around 10.30pm she received a call from a specialist who urged her to get urgent treatment due to an abnormality detected in her bones by the MRI.
“They told me I needed to go to the emergency room straightaway,” Sharn said. “When my doctor saw the results of the MRI he was shocked I could even walk. They did more tests and told me I had multiple myeloma.”
This particular type of blood cancer, multiple myeloma, compromises bone marrow and can render bones fragile, impacting areas like the spine, skull and ribs amongst others. Despite oftentimes being asymptomatic – persistent bone pain notably stands as a major indicator accompanied with other signs such as fatigue, unexplained weight loss, and easy bruising.
These warning signs are essential, as an MRI scan, which shows the condition as tiny speckles on bones, can unearth this malignant disease.
While Sharn’s battle is taking place in Melbourne, Australia, data from Cancer Research UK reveals that around 6,200 individuals receive a myeloma diagnosis each year within the UK. Although considered rare, the frequency of this cancer has seen a 10% uptick over the last ten years and predictions suggest it will keep climbing.
Incidence rates for this disease predominantly focus on elderly caucasian males; specifically, in the UK context, the majority of cases pertain to those aged 75 and above.
“My sister-in-law had bone cancer and passed away. When I received my diagnosis I thought, ‘Oh my God,’ and I cried to myself,” Sharn revealed. “Everyone was in shock because I am never sick, but this illness affected 75% of my bone marrow. I used to joke that I never get sick, but when I do, I get hospitalised.”
Being a woman of Sri Lankan heritage made Sharn an even more exceptional case, as she was only 52 when diagnosed and led an exceptionally healthy life as a personal trainer – a fact she believes has massively contributed to her recovery.
“I had to get injections into my stomach every week,” Sharn said, describing a treatment regimen that excluded chemo or radiotherapy.
The dedicated mum-of-two also relied on medication, including the targeted multiple myeloma drug Revlimid, engineered to modify the immune system and halt tumour growth by preventing the formation of new blood vessels needed for their expansion. She committed to monthly blood tests too, keeping a close check on her condition.
“I was declared cancer-free after 18 months,” said Sharn, highlighting her ongoing use of cortisone to keep the disease at bay. “It caused my bones to be brittle so I take calcium every day and vitamin D every day, as I might not absorb as much vitamin D due to my dark skin.”
Expressing gratitude for her fitness routine, Sharn added: “I have always done strength training and my bones should be strong. Luckily, I have good core strength to stop falls and maintain posture.
“I feel good, and my back is getting better – although I have shrunk as I did fall twice and my L5 (vertebrae) was crushed. I used to be 5ft 4ins but now I am 5ft 2ins.
“But every day I’m getting better and better. I’m pain-free and I think the bones can only get stronger from here.”
Sharn opened up about how her health ordeal was a terrifying time for her family but ultimately brought them closer together. She said: “It was hard on the kids,” recalling how she was diagnosed in August 2022 and her determination to attend her daughter’s 21st birthday party in September.
Her son also sought therapy at school to cope with seeing his mother in such pain.
In an unexpected twist, Sharn found that her battle with illness had some positive repercussions. She said: “Normally I do it all, like the cooking, cleaning, and maybe my family didn’t realise how much I do, and everyone helps out now.”
She also noticed a change in her own behaviour: “I also don’t yell anymore. I let my kids do whatever, because I was a control freak before. I would make sure everything was clean before I go to work and then would come home and it’s like a bomb has hit, and I could never sit down to eat until everything was put away. But now we all help clean up now, so that’s something,” she said with a chuckle.
“And we actually see more friends now. Before, we would always be busy doing things. So it brings you back. It brings everyone close.”
Sharn, now 55, is urging everyone, regardless of age, gender or race, to seek medical advice if they notice anything unusual about their health.
“Myeloma is common for elderly men and women. And it may be very rare for people in their 50s or 60s, but younger people are getting this cancer,” she cautioned.
“If you’ve been feeling pain for over 12 weeks, then you really need to get an MRI. It can be easy for a physio to suggest exercises, or say, ‘Try using walker.’ If you are older, you could simply think, ‘This is my life. I’m old. I’ll use the walker’ But you never know – there might be something else going on. So definitely get checked.”