In January 2019 I was diagnosed with Acute Myloid Leukaemia (AML) and admitted straight to ward 33 at the Freeman. I had been feeling unwell for 6/7 weeks before I was eventually diagnosed. My symptoms included severe mouth ulcers, leg pains and tiredness. I started...

In 2015 I was diagnosed with Myelodysplasia, MDS. in 2020, Prime COVID time, the MDStransposed into Acute Myeloid leukaemia. I was admitted to ward 33 at the Freeman hospital inearly October 2020. I had 3 lots CPX chemotherapy to kill off the leukaemia cells, and...

In October 2020 I was diagnosed with APML. I had been feeling unwell for about a week thinking it was anemia but then my gums would bleed when I brushed my teeth, random bruises appeared on my body. I had been to my Dr’s and had blood tests but the results hadn’t...

My partner was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in January 2023 and has since had numerous treatments and undergone a bone marrow transplant, spending a lot of 2023 on Ward 33 at the Freeman Hospital. We still visit the Freeman regularly for routine check ups....

In January 2020 I was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia. I had to undergo 8 months of intensive treatment, spending a month in Ward 33 and 7 months as an outpatient, repeatedly spending 8+ hour days in the newly refurbished break room. The room was...

I was ill recently.The people closest to me and most work mates are aware. Why bother anyone else? Why bother anyone else with my troubles. Would they even care?Then a friend of mine recently spoke up to make people more aware of mental illness. That sort of got me...

Meet our Ambassador: Phil  In 1999 my wife Eileen found a lump in her breast and had an appointment at Hexham Hospital to have it investigated, a little time later we went to see a cancer specialist who said I have some good news and some bad news, the good  news is...

In Mid-2021, a best friend of mine Stephen was diagnosed with T-cell Acute LymphoblasticLeukaemia (ALL) which is a rare and aggressive form of leukaemia in adults. After a period of feelingunwell that started earlier that year, his symptoms which turned out to be the...

I was diagnosed with terminal Plasma Cell Leukaemia in June 2021. Following chemotherapy, I received a stem cell transplant at The Freeman Hospital and saw up close the invaluable work that the medical staff and Bright Red volunteers did for every patient. Sadly the...

It feels important  to support Bright Red because nearly 19 years ago on the 26th November 2004 I was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia. I was young to be given this diagnosis as I was only 31 years old. It is typically a man's disease over the age of 60. I had...

My journey with the blood cancer team at the Freeman Hospital began in March 2013 when I was first diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. This came completely out of the blue as I was to all intents and purposes a fit and active 53yr old. I spent the next few months...

I was an inpatient in Ward 33 at Freeman Hospital for almost 5 months in 2020/21. I had Aplastic Anaemia and required 2 stem cell transplants, the second of which saved my life. Being in hospital for such a long time was hard. Even more so because I was a long way...

Over Christmas of 2019 I noticed something wasn’t right. I was 26 and as a personal trainer and boxing coach I kept myself very fit and active, engaged to my then fiancé we were planning our wedding the following year in Santorini. We talked about starting a family...

I received a bone marrow transplant on Ward 33 in the Freeman Hospital during January 2019. I wanted to find a way of saying “thankyou” for the magnificent care that I received from all the staff and wished to support the continuing work in research and diagnosis for...

In 2015 I was diagnosed with Myelodysplasia, MDS. in 2020, Prime COVID time, the MDS transposed into Acute Myeloid leukemia. I was admitted to ward 33 at the Freeman hospital in early October 2020. I had three lots of CPX  chemotherapy to kill off the leukemia cells,...

From the day he was born, Ross Sanderson was ‘a joy’.  His mum, Julie, says that he was not only ‘friendly and popular, caring and polite’ - he was also ‘never shy in giving his view on things!’  Ross sadly passed away on New Year’s Eve 2019 -at just thirty years old-...

Am I going to die? “It is not curable, but is very much treatable. We often find that with some treatments, you can live a further 10 years.” I’m now half way. For most people September 11th will rightly be the day people remember the attacks on the twin towers in...

“People would always ask: ‘what is it like to have a stem cell transplant?’ I would say the first one is like climbing Roseberry Topping in Middlesbrough – a hill that’s challenging if you go up the hard route. The second transplant would be like climbing Mount...

A seven-year-old from County Durham is taking to the hairdresser’s to help raise funds for Bright Red. Grace will be having her long hair chopped short on the 22nd of May, and she’s asking people to donate what they can to the charity. She was motivated to raise money...

Nikki first heard about Bright Red when she was a student nurse, helping out on Ward 33 at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle. Since she officially joined the team as a nurse on Ward 33, she says she’s seen first hand how Bright Red has helped the patients and families...

Maureen Birnie’s beloved husband, Allan Gordon Birnie, was diagnosed with Lymphoma, a form of blood cancer, in 2017. Maureen says that he received amazing treatment and care from the team at the Freeman Cancer Centre during his stays on Wards 33, 34, 35 and 36 for...

“Our next challenge will be…Climbing Mount Everest with a 747 jet strapped to my back.” In aid of Bright Red, Ivan Hart from Lionhart Fitness, along with his clients, will be doing box jumps and steps until they reach the height of Mount Everest (8,849 feet). This is...

“Every year, I get to celebrate two birthdays – my birthday and my remission – it’s another excuse to get the family together.” Chris Bell was diagnosed in 2016 with a form of blood cancer. After being diagnosed, he was admitted to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle....