Woman spent days in coma before cancer diagnosis

3 hours ago

Hsin-Yi LoSouth East

News image — Yasmin Ashburnham said recovering from myeloma was "long and challenging"

Myeloma UK A woman with blue sunglasses and wearing a bright orange and yellow vest and white shirt. She is standing behind a bicycle at a garden. — Yasmin Ashburnham said recovering from myeloma was "long and challenging"

A woman from East Sussex who was put into an induced coma after her incurable blood cancer went undiagnosed for a year is now undertaking a London to Paris cycling challenge to raise money for charity.

Yasmin Ashburnham was diagnosed with myeloma in 2022, when she was 42, after going into septic shock when her symptoms were missed.

The mother-of-two from Rye said her organs began to shut down and she spent four days in an induced coma.

"The word 'incurable' was hard to hear, but I was also told it is treatable and that gave me hope," she said.

According to the NHS, myeloma is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow.

It cannot usually be cured but can be managed with treatment.

The condition can also affect other parts of the body, including kidneys and immune system.

'A complete shock'

Despite suffering from constant chest infections, anaemia and fatigue, Yasmin said her cancer "went undetected for months".

In October 2022, she was rushed to hospital and went into septic shock.

Yasmin was later diagnosed with myeloma, which she described as a "complete shock".

After chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, Yasmin is now in remission.

She said recovery was "long and challenging" and it took a "real toll" on her physical strength.

Myeloma UK A woman wearing a blue life jacket and sports gear. She is paddle boarding. — Yasmin hopes to raise £5,000 at the Myeloma UK London to Paris Ride

Yasmin is now taking on the 450km (279-mile) Myeloma UK London to Paris Ride, due to start on Thursday and finish on 18 May.

She hopes to raise £5,000 for the blood cancer charity.

"Being able to take on this ride now means more to me than I can ever put into words," Yasmin adds.

"I want to raise awareness so people aren't diagnosed at such a late stage," she said. "Being able to give something back feels incredibly important."

Matt Wynes, director of fundraising at Myeloma UK, said: "No one should have to go through what Yasmin and her family experienced."

He added the charity was "grateful" for Yasmin's fundraising efforts.

Wynes said while there was "much greater awareness around myeloma", many people "still faced delays in diagnosis and challenges in accessing treatment".

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