Leukaemia

Welcome to the website about Leukaemia. What do you know about leukaemia? If you ask most people will probably say something like it's an illness that children get, it is something to do with the blood. Leukaemia is in fact a cancer of white blood cells that affects adults as well as children. More than 7000 men and women are diagnosed with it every year in the UK, compared to about 450 children aged under 15. Improvements in treatments mean that three times as many people are surviving leukaemia now than did 30 years ago. There are different types of leukaemia and although some need immediate life-saving treatment,  others can be managed for many years. Some may never even need treatment.

So how do people feel when they're told they have leukaemia, what goes through their minds at that point? Am I going to die? What treatment will I need? Why has it happened to me? Is it normal to feel the way I do? The leukaemia website is about people's experiences of leukaemia in adulthood. We hope that the sharing of experiences will provide answers, support and help to people with leukaemia and show them that they are not alone. We have interviewed 45 men and women with different kinds of leukaemia or an allied condition called myelodysplastic syndrome, and a few relatives of people with leukaemia.  There are about 250 carefully selected clips from the interviews. Most you can watch as a video, others you can listen to and all can be read. In these clips people talk openly about their symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, how the illness has affected them physically and emotionally, the impact on their relationships, and the ways in which it has changed their lives.

Even if you know all the facts hearing how the illness has affected other people can both be supportive and informative. Perhaps you or someone close to you has leukaemia. Maybe you treat or care for people with it. Or maybe you just want to understand more about this illness and what it's like to live with day after day. Whatever your situation we hope you'll find the leukaemia website to be a unique and valuable resource.