My Story

When I was 14 (yes, 15 years ago!) I was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML) - an incurable type of blood cancer. Being told you’ve got cancer at any age is terrifying. Hearing it at 14, when you’re supposed to be worrying about school and friends, is hard to process.

It all started in 2010 when I felt constantly tired and lost my appetite. My mum took me for a blood test. That evening, our GP knocked on the door. You know something’s not right when your doctor turns up on your doorstep.

“Miles’ bloods are concerning me. I’d like him to get to the hospital as soon as possible.”

That night, we went to the hospital thinking it’d be nothing. The next morning, I was blue-lighted to Birmingham Children’s Hospital. That’s when my mum broke the news to me: “You’ve got a form of blood cancer called leukaemia.”

I was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia - a cancer where your bone marrow makes too many abnormal white blood cells.  If you have CML, your bone marrow makes too many myeloid cells, which don't develop properly into normal white blood cells. It’s a slow-growing cancer but one you live with, not ‘beat.’ I was put on treatment straight away with a drug called Imatinib. Within a month, my white blood cell count was back to normal.

That first month was spent in hospital. And honestly, it could have been a lot harder than it was, thanks to the Teenage Cancer Trust unit at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.  The unit had only just opened that year, in 2010, and it was incredible. It wasn’t just a hospital ward. It was designed specifically for teenagers. Pool tables, games consoles, and even lights you could control to make the space feel more like yours. Little things like that make a big difference when your world’s been turned upside down.

That unit gave me the space to still feel like a teenager, not just someone with cancer. I wasn’t well enough to go home, but I didn’t feel stuck in a hospital bay either. Being able to play FIFA with someone else going through treatment doesn’t change your diagnosis, but it does make the days feel a bit more normal. I was lucky. I wasn’t as ill as some of the others, but I’ve never forgotten how important that environment was.

Since then, the unit has moved to Waterfall House in 2018, where Teenage Cancer Trust continues to support young people going through treatment. I know first-hand how important that environment is and how much difference it makes.

Me? I’m still plodding along! 15 years later, I still take Imatinib every day, and my little miracle drug keeps my dodgy bone marrow in check - which means I can keep doing silly stuff like running marathons. Yes, I know, I'm ridiculous.

That’s why I want to raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust. I’ve experienced first-hand how much their work matters. It made a difference to me. It will make a difference to others too.

As of writing this, I'm currently on day 246 of completing 5k running and walking every other day, so I'm hoping that once I've hit a year, I'll shift my focus onto training for this marathon and hopefully completing it April next year in a respectful enough time!

Every donation helps keep these services going for young people facing cancer today. Thanks for reading, and thanks for your support.