{"id":168877,"date":"2025-06-09T00:11:26","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T00:11:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/168877\/"},"modified":"2025-06-09T00:11:26","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T00:11:26","slug":"at-26-i-thought-i-was-knackered-from-looking-after-a-new-puppy-and-working-nights-but-it-was-actually-silent-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/168877\/","title":{"rendered":"At 26, I thought I was knackered from looking after a new puppy and working nights – but it was actually ‘silent’ cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

WITH a new puppy and a night-shift job, Hannah Coggles put her constant exhaustion down to her hectic routine.<\/p>\n

When her symptoms<\/a> worsened, the then-26-year-old soon thought she might be pregnant<\/a>, but repeated tests confirmed this wasn\u2019t the case so she brushed her concerns aside.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Hannah Coggles, with her puppy Noodle, when she started to feeling exhaustedCredit: Supplied\"Woman<\/a><\/p>\n

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Then then-26-year-old was later diagnosed with cancerCredit: Supplied<\/p>\n

Even when some unexplained bruising<\/a> appeared, Hannah didn\u2019t think too much of it. She was otherwise healthy after all.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until she nearly collapsed at work that she thought something more serious might be at play.<\/p>\n

Hannah, from Swaffham, Norfolk<\/a>, tells Sun Health: \u201cIn October 2020, I was deeply fatigued almost all the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband George and I had recently got a fox red Labrador called Noodle, just before we got married, and it was exhausting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI almost passed out a couple of times – once at home, once at work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt one point I did think that maybe I was pregnant, but the tests were showing negative.<\/p>\n

\u201cI then got bruises on my arms and legs. They weren\u2019t necessarily big ones, but they were taking an incredibly long time to heal, and my other symptoms weren\u2019t improving.\u201d<\/p>\n

That finally prompted her to book a GP appointment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Due to Covid<\/a> restrictions at the time, this was over the phone – but thankfully, the doctor listened.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Believing she might be anaemic<\/a>, Hannah was referred for a blood test and the very next day she got a call from a nurse on the Macmillan Ward.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Charities have raised concerns over the population\u2019s \u201cnon-existent\u201d awareness of leukaemia symptoms <\/p>\n

\u201cShe told me to bring an overnight bag. I knew something wasn\u2019t right,\u201d she recalls.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In January 2021, Hannah was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia<\/a> (ALL) – a type of cancer<\/a> that affects the blood and bone marrow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are around 760 new cases diagnosed every year in the UK.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t process anything the consultant was saying,\u201d Hannah says. \u201cIt was too much for my brain to process in the moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI just remember calling my loved ones. There were so many tears, a lot of crying between me and my husband.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there was no time to pause. She was admitted to the ward immediately, with treatment<\/a> set to begin within days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The pandemic meant she faced much of it alone in hospital, but FaceTime, phone calls, and quizzes with family and friends helped keep her grounded.<\/p>\n

Hannah was moved from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King\u2019s Lynn, where she was able to see friends and family through a window, to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge<\/a>, where she was in a top floor ward, with no visitors permitted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The gravity of the situation hit me hard and fast. I remember having a little breakdown the day I was due to go in to start my stem cell transplant treatment<\/p>\n

Hannah Coggles<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cMy support system was incredible,\u201d Hannah, a housewife and karate instructor, says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents made long journeys just to drop off food and essentials, my husband brought clean clothes, and the nurses were amazing too. It was the little things that kept me going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hannah underwent IV and oral chemotherapy<\/a>, countless blood tests, bone marrow biopsies, and intrathecal procedures.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When targeted therapy failed, she had her ovary removed in the hope of preserving fertility<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then came high-dose chemo and radiotherapy to prepare her for a stem cell transplant<\/a> from her sister Olivia in November 2021.<\/p>\n

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Hannah initially brushed her exhaustion aside, then thought she might be pregnantCredit: Supplied\"Close-up<\/a><\/p>\n

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She later noticed small bruising on her arms and legsCredit: Supplied\"Woman<\/a><\/p>\n

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A trip to the GP revealed she had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL)Credit: Supplied\"Two<\/a><\/p>\n

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She underwent treatment, including a stem cell transplant from her sister OliviaCredit: Supplied<\/p>\n

Physically, treatment left her weak and drained.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI lost weight and couldn\u2019t tolerate the taste of onion or garlic, things I used to love,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a result, I lost a lot of weight and was very unwell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mentally, she held it together, until just before the transplant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe gravity of the situation hit me hard and fast,\u201d Hannah says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember having a little breakdown the day I was due to go in to start my stem cell transplant treatment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut luckily I managed to stay as positive as I possibly could and faced every challenge head on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Warning signs of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia<\/p>\n

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ACUTE lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow.<\/p>\n

It starts from white blood cells called lymphocytes and usually develops quickly over days or weeks.<\/p>\n

Around 790 people are diagnosed with ALL\u00a0every year in the UK.<\/p>\n

But cases of leukaemia generally are rising. Since the early 1990s, incidence rates have increased by around 15 per cent in the UK, according to Cancer Research UK. <\/p>\n

There is a similar trend in the United States, particularly in teenagers. A report by the American Cancer Society estimated there will be 66,890 new leukaemia cases and 23,540 deaths in 2025.<\/p>\n

Dr Keith Pratz, MD,\u00a0director of the Leukemia Program at Penn Medicine\u2019s Abramson Cancer Center, told\u00a0Blood Cancers Today: “Incidence rates of leukaemia are rising in adults based on SEER data going back as far as 1975. <\/p>\n

“Many believe these are changes due to children and young adults living longer over that period, with death from other causes going down.<\/p>\n

“There is a small but meaningful increase in younger adults with leukaemia, and we need improved reporting of risks found in these young adults to improve our understanding of this issue.”<\/p>\n

The most common symptoms of leukaemia include:<\/p>\n