Bizarre physical reaction that led to the 36-year-old nurse being diagnosed with fatal blood cancer
A bad reaction to lip filler saved the life of a 36-year-old nurse after her swollen lip prompted a blood test that showed she had leukemia.
Edita Jucaite, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, previously underwent similar cosmetic procedures without any reaction, but a lip filler injection last April caused her lip to swell immediately, causing severe bruising.
The doctor who administered the filler was also a colleague and expressed concern about the bruised lip and told Ms Jucaite to contact her GP.
Ms Jucaite was also losing weight – a common warning sign of cancer – and just hours after having a blood test, her GP called her.
She was told to go to the hospital right away because they suspected she had leukemia. Further tests confirmed that Ms Jucaite had chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).
Edita Jucaite, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, claims an adverse reaction to lip filler saved her life after it prompted her to have a blood test
A filler injection last April immediately caused her lip to swell, causing severe bruising. Unusual bruising, unusual bleeding, fatigue, and repeated infections are all telltale signs of cancer. The doctor who administered the filler was also a colleague and expressed her concerns about the bruised lip and told her to contact her GP
“Not many people can say lip fillers saved their lives, but I did,” said Ms. Jucaite, now grateful for the bad reaction to the filler.
‘If the bruising hadn’t developed and it hadn’t encouraged me to go to the GP, I might have put it off again and again, which could have meant the leukemia had developed and become much harder to treat. she said.
Unusual bruising, unusual bleeding, fatigue, and repeated infections are all telltale signs of cancer, but many are unaware of these symptoms.
Leukemia Care and Leukemia UK have released new findings from a YouGov survey of 2,000 British adults, which revealed that less than a sixth (14 percent) of the British adult population are able to identify all four key symptoms of this blood cancer.
The organizations say this contributes to more than a third of diagnosed people learning the life-changing news in the emergency room.
The nurse received oral chemotherapy and she is now in remission. But she will have to take lifelong medication to prevent the cancer from returning
In Britain, around 10,000 people are diagnosed with leukemia every year, with almost 5,000 deaths
Ms Jucaite said: ‘I had no idea about the signs and symptoms of leukaemia. I was happy to lose some weight when I went on holiday and I drank a lot of energy drinks which may have masked my tiredness.
‘There definitely needs to be more general awareness about leukemia and what to look out for so that more people can get diagnosed in time for treatment to be effective, like I did.’
The nurse received oral chemotherapy after her diagnosis and she is now in remission. But she will have to take lifelong medication to prevent the cancer from returning.
Across Britain, around 10,000 people are diagnosed with leukemia every year, with almost 5,000 deaths.
Every year, 37 percent of those diagnosed with leukemia receive this news in the emergency room – more than for any other form of cancer.
Furthermore, people diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are disproportionately affected, as more than half of them are diagnosed in emergency situations.
This type of leukemia is particularly aggressive and develops quickly, so early diagnosis and treatment are even more important.
Despite common misconceptions, leukemia is not just a childhood disease and mainly affects people over 65 years of age.
Every day, 27 people in Britain are diagnosed with leukemia, and more than 50,000 people are currently living with the disease.
