Top News

A mother-of-two feared she would never witness her children growing up following an incurable diagnosis triggered by a sore throat. Deb Gascoyne, 50, from Hagley, West Midlands, discovered she had smouldering myeloma – an early stage of the blood cancer – in July 2009, aged 34, after a routine GP visit for a sore throat.

Deb, who shares her life with her 50-year-old husband Nick and their two children, Rebecca, now 21, and Sam, 19, credits a nurse's spur-of-the-moment choice to conduct blood tests that day with securing an early diagnosis that may well have saved her life. Despite experiencing two cancer relapses over the years, she has been present for numerous significant family moments and has devoted herself to fundraising, with an ambitious goal of reaching £250,000 to support research into treatments and ultimately a cure.

To date, she has generated £248,100 for the charity Myeloma UK – though the actual figure is likely higher as records are only refreshed monthly – and is gearing up for her final fundraising endeavour in May, a cycling journey from London to Paris, to hit her target. Although Deb has grappled with survivor's guilt and at times felt like a "fraud" for exceeding the typical life expectancy, she expressed feeling "lucky that (she's) had 16 years" and hopes to offer "hope" to others facing similar challenges.

• Primark fan 'hits the jackpot' with 'stunning' £20 cardigan in 'perfect colour'
• M&S fires shot at Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons with '30 new value items' this month

"If I think about the friends I've lost along the way, and what their families have missed out on, I am remarkably lucky to have a slower and less aggressive form of myeloma," Deb shared with PA Real Life. "I've seen my kids hit their major birthdays, I've watched my son with his girlfriend and my daughter becoming a paramedic, and you just think, those were things I could only have dreamt of when I first got that diagnosis. I am really lucky and really blessed to have seen them through all of that."

Prior to her diagnosis, in 2009, Deb was an active mother-of-two who worked in Human Resources (HR) – and with her children being two and four at the time, she was ready to "kickstart (her) family". It was only when she started experiencing a persistent sore throat that everything changed.

"It felt like a golf ball in my throat and I was wiped out from it every month, so I went to the GP," Deb said. "The nurse said, 'We'll do a throat swab and if that comes back negative and you're still having the sore throats, we'll send for bloods'.

"Then, just before I left, she said, 'Actually, do you know what? We'll just send your bloods off now anyway'."

Deb revealed that this snap decision to conduct blood tests that day resulted in an "early diagnosis that (she) might not have had otherwise". Following additional examinations, including scans and a bone marrow biopsy, doctors confirmed in July 2009 that Deb had smouldering myeloma – an early stage of the blood cancer – at just 34 years old.

Left feeling "totally shellshocked", as medics initially told her she was "too young" to receive such a diagnosis, she began conducting her own research and discovered life expectancy figures.

"At the time, there wasn't much information from the UK, most of it was from the US, but it was saying two to five years' life expectancy," she said. "So, then there was that whole fear and emotion of not seeing your children grow up, not getting old with Nick – all the things that we had plans for and were a no-brainer in our heads were suddenly up in the air."

Roughly a year afterwards, Deb's myeloma advanced to active cancer and she was enrolled in the Myeloma XI trial in 2010, which involved chemotherapy. Nevertheless, throughout that year, Deb explained she immersed herself in fundraising activities as she "needed to take control of something", first completing the Yorkshire Three Peaks alongside her family and friends.

She admitted to feeling "morbid" at moments, listening to melancholic music and even selecting her funeral playlist, but when she engaged with fellow patients through Myeloma UK's support network, this helped transform her outlook. "There were two women in particular who, sadly, aren't with us anymore," Deb said.

"But at the time, they were really instrumental in helping me realise that I could still have a life and have myeloma, that I could still have a number of years ahead of me."

In July 2011, Deb underwent her first stem cell transplant and was subsequently put on maintenance chemotherapy, which she said maintained her in "partial remission" for eight years. Although there was the "fear in the back of (her) head" about the possibility of relapse, Deb remained dedicated to fundraising, organising occasions such as a "glitz and glamour ball" that brought in more than £30,000.

Discussing her other fundraising efforts, Deb said: "I then did 40 challenges before I was 40, including reading 40 books, doing a pub crawl around 40 pubs in 40 hours and eating 40 Brussels sprouts in four minutes. Then I did £50,000 before I was 50, but in the middle, I did other things like a food and wine tasting event, which raised about £11,000 and silent discos and auctions."

Myeloma UK explains that myeloma typically follows a relapsing-remitting pattern, whereby effective treatment can achieve remission, though the condition is expected to return. In Deb's case, she experienced a relapse in 2019 and received her second stem cell transplant in September 2020, before facing another relapse in November 2024.

She began a new maintenance treatment in December 2024, which she continues to receive. Despite experiencing some "blips" and hospital admissions, she remains committed to her fundraising efforts.

She is currently gearing up for her second London to Paris cycling challenge in May, where she will be accompanied by family members, her consultant, two of her clinical research nurses, the wife of a recently deceased patient, and other patients and friends. During this period, she also plans to take a break from work to savour quality time with her family.

"My husband's about to take some time out so that we can make some memories and not wait until it's too late," she shared. "I think we would like to see a bit of Europe, and for Nick's 50th birthday, we've got a few gifts of meals out or afternoon tea. It will be nice to have time as well to support the kids without trying to split time between work and treatment, so we can make the priorities the right ones."

Deb revealed that since her diagnosis, she has had ample time to "reflect", often pondering what might have transpired if that blood test hadn't been conducted. However, as she nears the 17-year mark since her diagnosis in July, she feels "grateful", admitting she didn't anticipate "having this much time".

She is determined to continue raising awareness about myeloma and to inspire others to "listen to (their) body and be their own advocate".

"The whole journey with myeloma has been a rollercoaster for everyone, but what's nice is there is a community out there... and they help you remember that you're not alone," she expressed. "I'd say to others, try and think positively where you can, because no matter what you read, I like to think that stories like mine show that there is always hope."

For more information or to make a donation, visit Deb's most recent fundraising page at ride.myeloma.org.uk/deb-gascoyne or check out the Myeloma UK's website at www.myeloma.org.uk