Edita Jucaite was delighted at first, but it later became apparent that there was a sinister reason behind her weight loss
Dental nurse Edita Jucaite was over the moon to discover she was shedding pounds without ramping up her exercise routine. It was early 2023 and she was looking forward to a dream holiday.
Edita, 36, believed her hectic work and social schedule were naturally sculpting her figure in preparation for her seaside getaway – until a harrowing diagnosis turned her world on its head.
“I lost about 10 kilos (22lbs) in two or three months, quite quickly and without even trying,” said the Banbury-based health worker. “At that time, I was going out a lot to eat and having takeaways. So I thought, ‘This is quite good’. I was happy that I was losing weight because I was about to go to Mauritius with my partner. I was like, ‘Yeah! ’”
Little did Edita know, her slimming silhouette was concealing a serious health concern. It wasn’t until after undergoing a cosmetic procedure that she began to suspect something might be amiss.
She said: “At the end of April last year, I had lip filler, which severely bruised almost immediately. I realised I had been bruising more easily for two or three months before I had the lip filler. The doctor who gave me the lip filler kind of put it all together, the losing weight and bruising, but I think she was scared to say too much to me. She pushed me to go to have a full blood test.”
A recent poll by YouGov on behalf of Leukaemia Care and Leukaemia UK found that just 14% of the UK adult population are aware of the four main symptoms of leukaemia, which are unusual bleeding, fatigue, repeated infections and, like Edita’s case, unusual bruising. Thanks to the encouragement from her work friend, Edita booked herself in to see her GP, but even then, was not expecting to be told she had a form of blood cancer.
“I did Google before I went to the GP the symptoms of losing weight and bruising and it did come up as leukaemia, but I just brushed it off. I was like, ‘No, it’s not possible’,” she recalled. “Even when I went to the GP and asked for blood tests, I joked with him, ‘Google is saying that I have leukaemia, but that’s impossible!’ But that same day I found out that it was actually leukaemia.”
In the UK, 27 people are diagnosed with leukaemia every day – and tragically almost half of those will not survive beyond five years. Edita was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) – a form of blood cancer which can develop slowly and affects myeloid cells, which are a type of white blood cell. Unexplained weight loss is one of the possible symptoms of the disease, along with the four more common symptoms of leukaemia, including bleeding, bruising, fatigue, and repeated infections. Looking pale, night sweats and bone pain are also listed as potential symptoms of many types of leukaemia.
“I had the blood test in the morning, and by three o’clock in the afternoon, the GP was calling me to tell me the devastating news,” Edita said. “I burst into tears. And thank God I was not far from work. One of my colleagues saw me crying, so she came and comforted me. If I would have been by myself? I don’t know. It’s just a shock when someone tells you something like that and you don’t expect it.”
Edita was prescribed chemotherapy tablets, which she started to take immediately. She was left feeling nauseous and extremely tired and lost another two kilos in a week while on the medication. However, further blood tests showed she responded well to this treatment and her white blood cell count soon stabilised. Within a week, she was able to change treatment to the targeted cancer drug Imatinib, which acts as a cancer growth blocker and requires blood tests every three months, to monitor her condition.
“I will have to be on this (Imatinib) for life,” Edita said – and reflected on the nerves she feels every time a check-up is due. “I still get a bit anxious when I have the appointment with the consultant, just in case something goes wrong, what the results are… But it’s been good so far
“I have some bad days thinking, ‘Why did it happen to me?’ and, ‘Why do I have to take the tablet?’ At the moment, I’m fine and everything is under control, but within five, 10, years, you never know. Maybe (Imatinib) will keep the Leukaemia under control, you just have to take one day at a time and stay positive.”
Edita was supported through her ordeal by her partner, Paulius. And while the couple were disappointed to cancel their trip to Mauritius after the diagnosis, they did finally go there to unwind in September last year after Edita had completed her treatment.
Now the dental nurse hopes to help raise awareness about the early signs of leukaemia to help others get the treatment they need as quickly as possible. She said: “If you’re losing weight for no reason or noticing bruising, book an appointment with your GP and ask for a full blood count test as soon as you can – to either confirm or rule out any concerns.”
For more information on leukaemia, including the signs and symptoms, visit www.leukaemiauk.org.uk For help and support following a diagnosis contact Leukaemia Care www.leukaeamiacare.org.uk
