Frances’ story: Juggling university studies and a cancer diagnosis
Frances, from Belfast, was diagnosed with a type of blood cancer, called acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, in 2017 while studying at St. Andrews University. Here’s her story of living with cancer.
I felt embarrassed about going to the doctors over feeling cold
I was home for the holidays after my first year of university. I was working during a really warm day, but I was absolutely freezing and could not warm up at all.
It was quite sporadic for a few weeks. I didn't really think it was worth going to the doctor for, especially because it meant that I'd have to change GPs from my doctor at St. Andrews. So, I waited until I was back at uni and went for a blood test with the doctor there.
After a second round of blood tests I was told I needed a bone marrow biopsy. I don't know if my doctor knew that it was blood cancer initially, but I'm grateful that she explored all possibilities. I was lucky.
I had that bone marrow biopsy on a Thursday, got the results that night, dropped out of uni on the Friday and my brother brought me home on the Saturday.
I was in hospital by Sunday. It was just total confusion, to be honest.
Make sure that you get every single piece of support that you can
As I needed to start treatment, I was given the option to take a leave of absence from St. Andrews and come back when I wanted. However, I ended up deciding that it would be better to reapply to Queen’s University in Belfast to be closer to home.
I started my undergraduate degree again, so I lost a year. I worried that I’d feel quite old because I was one or two years older than people who were starting. I know now that there’s no timeline that you need to follow, people go to university at all ages.
I was still getting treatment when I was at Queen's. It was quite difficult because it made me incredibly tired, but the arrangements that Queen's made were so helpful. It didn't make it easy, but it took the pressure off knowing that if I was feeling ill one month, I could have my deadlines extended.
In a weird way, my cancer treatment gave me more time to focus on exactly what it was that I was interested in. Previously I'd studied German and International Relations and then I'd moved on to study International Politics.
You can be an expert by experience
I heard about the Anthony Nolan charity when I was going through treatment.
I saw that there was a student branch called Marrow. They had a group that was working in Queen’s, so when I went along for the freshers’ fair on my first day I made a beeline for the stall and got involved.
I ended up running the group in my last year, which was really fun and very rewarding.
Looking back at all the things that cancer had taken from me, being able to see that my experience has helped other people in any small way makes it easier to focus on the positives.
Even if you don't think that you have a lot of expertise in the area, you are an expert by experience and there's more than likely going to be a group or society that you can get involved in.
You can’t pour from an empty cup
To be an effective activist or campaigner, you have to put yourself first. Some of the issues that you'll probably end up working on might feel a little bit too close to home.
Go easy on yourself. Break things down into manageable chunks. You don't have to deal with everything in one go.
Yoga is something that I took up when I was in hospital to try and keep me sane. After I got out of hospital, I joined a class and I’ve continued ever since. It's helped me emotionally and physically and encourages me to keep myself in the present moment.
I've always been interested in baking, but when I got out as an outpatient it gave me a sense of purpose, knowing that I could create something in the space of a few hours. When there was nothing else to do but get better, creating something like this was really rewarding.
I’m excited for the future and the time I’ve been given
I feel super privileged, especially because I've thankfully gone through all my treatment. I hope that I can use the time that I've been given to make some sort of positive impact with my career and in my personal life.
Thinking back to the dark times in my treatment, I never would have thought that I'd be excited to go traveling and to be meeting new people. It's amazing to know that those are things that I'm looking forward to again.
There’s so much more to read and see. I have so much general excitement, which is a lovely thing to be able to say.
Organisations that helped Frances:
- Anthony Nolan
- UK Marrow
- Belfast Marrow
- Cancer Fund For Children
- Macmillan Cancer Support
- Teenage Cancer Trust
- Yoga with Adriene
- Young Lives vs Cancer
PP-UNP-GBR-5231 January 2024
