A WOMAN who lost her father just five days after he was diagnosed with blood cancer has vowed to raise awareness and give other patients “a fair chance to fight” the disease.
Sasha Nash, from Henley, lost her father David Payton to a heart attack on July 3, less than a week after he had been diagnosed with the incurable blood cancer myeloma.
Mr Payton, 71, who worked as a set builder on EastEnders for more than 35 years, had just started chemotherapy.
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It had taken seven months for him to be diagnosed. By that point, his blood cancer was so advanced that he had holes in his spine.
Ms Nash, 43, now wants to raise awareness of the symptoms of myeloma and help other going through the same experience
She said: “Dad wasn’t given a fair chance to fight because his diagnosis was too late, I don’t think he would have died if the cancer had been found earlier.
“Dad was heroic throughout, only thinking of us all. I’ve never seen someone in so much pain, but he didn’t moan once.
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“That’s our motivation now: to stop this happening to anyone else. No GP ever suspected anything.
“There needs to be more awareness of myeloma especially with GPs. No one knows about myeloma and that’s the really dangerous side of it.
“What happened to Dad was unnecessary. A massive thing for us is to get GPs on board and get people aware of it. I do believe that there’s so much that can be prevented with just a bit more general knowledge.”
Myeloma occurs in the bone marrow and currently affects over 24,000 people in the UK.
Despite being the third most common type of blood cancer, it is especially difficult to detect as symptoms, including back pain, easily broken bones, fatigue and recurring infection, are often linked to general ageing or minor conditions.
Ms Nash said: “In hindsight there were warning signs but, when Dad started getting backache in November 2021, we thought it was down to being tall and getting a bit older.
“But it wasn’t until Dad had a routine blood test on June 13 this year for his blood pressure tablets that he was told the blood results suggested he may have myeloma.”
She is now encouraging people to donate £1 to blood cancer charity Myeloma UK and taking part in the Walk 25 for 25 challenge, walking 25 minutes a day for 25 days or get 25,000 steps in each day for 25 days.
Ms Nash, her brother Scott Payton and cousin Nicola Hammond will also tackle their own Walk 25 for 25 challenges.
To support them, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/DavidPayton
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This story was written by Anna Colivicchi, she joined the team this year and covers health stories for the Oxfordshire papers.
Get in touch with her by emailing: Anna.colivicchi@newsquest.co.uk
Follow her on Twitter @AnnaColivicchi
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