A bus driver Who thought he had Just injured her back Raising a mattress is now struggling with incurable blood cancer,
Terry Harper from Chisleharst in South-East London started complaining of back pain in February 2022 after carrying a vacuum-pack mattress from the stairs.
The 62 -year -old was initially described as his painful Back pain There was a slipped disc – but Later tests revealed He had stage 3 multiple myeloma,
“I can’t describe that emotional turmoil, when you think that you think you have just got a bad back and you have been told that you have cancer that is eating on your spine,” said Mr. Harper. Independent,
Mr. Harper, who first worked as a manual labor jobs and left due to his back, recalled a CT scan at the Princess Royal University Hospital in South London in March 2022. He claimed that doctors said that they have two slipped discs and should be better in six weeks.
However, just six weeks later, in April 2022, he was unable to get out of bed.
Until the third day of the bed-bound, his partner Dela called 111 and was given a blue light back to the hospital, where further tests revealed that he had several myeloma.
Mr. Harper was told that blood cancer was “ate in the vertebrates” in its spine, which reduced it 4.5 inches and collapsed her disc. It also produced 12 tumors on their spine and triggers osteoporosis, a disease that weakens bones.
Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that affects blood and bone marrow. This causes bone marrow to make plasma cells, which becomes part of your immune system, which does not function properly, NHS explained. Bone pain, especially in the back, hips and ribs, fatigue, muscle weakness and headache are all symptoms of myeloma.
Mr. Harper initially did chemotherapy in December 2023, but in June this year, his cancer returned and he went back to chemotherapy.
The London bus driver, who goes into chemotherapy twice a week and still works for four days, said his busy schedule “run him on the ground”.
“I came home from work last week, and my partner said: ‘You look sick, you can’t fight chemo, cancer and work.”
However, with the high cost of life, Mr. Harper said that only 80 percent of his salary is not sufficient as his salary and £ 100 he does not even cover the purchase bill “.
He said: “I have been a bus driver for 20 years, they take care of me, I only do five hours a day, but then, I am earning less than half that I used to earn. It’s financially, it’s difficult.”
His long -term companion, who is also a bus driver, is working six days a week to help live with cost, but physical and financial tolls are immense.
His daughter Olivia Cataral has launched one Goofandme page In the hope of raising £ 1,800 to help Mr. Harper take some time out of work, recover from treatment properly and cover basic domestic bills.
More than 33,000 people in Britain are living with myeloma. Despite the third most common type of blood cancer, myeloma is often remembered, as its symptoms, including back pain, easily broken bones, fatigue and recurring infections, are unclear, which are often associated with normal aging or small conditions, according to the UK.
Jennis Makkuloch, head of campaigns in blood cancer charity, said: “Myloma has the longest one for the diagnosis of any cancer. It is important to catch it first, but we cannot do it alone and we need a government to prefer improvement in diagnosis.
“One of the greatest obstacles for diagnosis remains early as a symptom quickly and before there is too much damage.”
A spokesman at the Princess Royal University Hospital said: ”We are sorry to hear that Mr. Harper was dissatisfied with his care.
“Myloma can be extremely difficult to diagnose blood cancer, especially in its early stages. Patients are less than 1 percent likely that their back pain is caused by cancer when they first go to see a doctor, and Myeloma is rare, all cancer types are only 2 percent.
“We will be happy to discuss Mr. Harper’s case with him at the request.”