A doctor who was diagnosed with leukaemia has revealed a surprising symptom she almost ignored.
Ellissa Baskind, 46, has spent much of her working life carrying out operations as a consultant gynaecologist in Leeds.
Over the years, she developed progressively worse back pain, something she put down to the nature of constantly be bent over in her job.
It was at her work Christmas party however, when Ellissa thought something was up after she was left unable to dance due to the pain.
Naturally being in the medical field, she went and got an x-ray which came back clear. However, her blood results came back with abnormalities and the mum-of-two was given a shock leukaemia diagnosis.
Ellissa said: “At the time [I was diagnosed] I was doing a lot of operations and you do get yourself into a lot of awkward positions. It’s just the nature of the job.
“It’s not uncommon in my line of work to have back pain. I was getting pain in my shoulder blades which was keeping me up at night.
“Even as a doctor, you don’t think of the worst things. I genuinely thought it was related to my work. I never once thought it was something sinister.
“I wasn’t sure I would make it to the Christmas party because this pain was bothering me so much. It was at the forefront of my mind. The pain stopped me from dancing and being able to enjoy myself fully.”
Ellissa was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia – a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, characterised by the rapid growth of abnormal cells.
Having to undergo two rounds of chemotherapy, Ellissa then discovered a lump in her breast and was diagnosed with myeloid sarcoma 18 months later.
Ellissa said: “Looking at the literature, there is no cure for myeloid sarcoma. I believed it was palliative. That night I was looking into hospice care and thought it was the end of the road.
“The doctors asked me how much fight I had left in me and I said I’m only interested in a cure. They said there is a chance of a cure but it’s very remote and you would need another stem cell transplant.”
After undergoing successful stem cell transplant in 2022, she did two more rounds of chemotherapy in June.
Ellissa added: “I’m now in the best health and have hit five years now which is a real milestone. I’m very fortunate.
“The best advice I have to people going through cancer treatment is to take each day at a time. I feel so lucky to be alive. And it’s changed the way I approach patients having been one myself.
“I look back and I felt very well other than that back pain. I could have so easily just gone on with my life and missed it. “Please listen to your body and don’t ignore your symptoms; keep pursuing answers and persevere until you know what is going on.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.
