Kirkcaldy mum calls for more stem cell donors to sign up to register after rare cancer diagnosis

When Rachael Nixon began to fell ill, she put it down to having just given birth to her daughter Daisy.

Adjusting to being a single mum while juggling her job as a self-employed milliner, the 39-year-old felt it wasn’t all that unusual to be experiencing dizzy spells and increased fatigue.

Rachel, from Kirkcaldy in Fife, decided to and see her GP after her symptoms continued throughout the summer.

“Within two hours of getting my bloods done they phoned me back immediately and were saying ‘somethings not right, you have to come in first thing after the weekend,'” she told STV News.

“And then after a long wait of testing – because my cancer is so rare it took them over six weeks to get my results back – I was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer called Myelofibrosis.”

Rachael Nixon wants to see her daughter Daisy grow up STV News

Roughly 300 people in the UK are diagnosed with Myelofibrosis each year, and it’s a particularly aggressive form of cancer.

As a result, Rachael urgently needs to find a stem cell donor to give her a second chance at life before it’s too late.

But doing so is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Blood cancer charity DKMS say just 2.4% of the eligible population in Scotland are registered to become a potential donor.

Rachael is calling for more stem cell donors to come forward STV News

There’s a 25% chance of Rachael’s brother being a match, and they’re awaiting test results soon – but Rachael is campaigning to add to the list of possible donors.

“I want future mums like me that are in this position – staying up late at night, wondering if they’re going to die and not being able to raise their child – I want in the future people to be able to look at those statistics and those statistics be a lot better than they are now.”

Having welcomed Daisy into the world less than a year ago, Rachael’s motivation during her donor search is to be able to see her little girl grow up.

She said: “I now have a full new chapter ahead of me and that’s being a mum, and I want to continue being a mum.

“The thought that I might not be here for Daisy is terrifying.”

The mum-of-one is waiting to see if her brother is a match following testing. STV News

DKMS are keen to make people aware that the process of becoming a donor and possibly making a donation, is a lot simpler than it used to be.

Deborah Hyde, the charity’s communications manager, said: “You can go online at DKMS.org.uk, you’ll just answer a few simple health questions.

“And then we’ll send you out a swab kit, some very simple mouth swabs that you can do at home. Do those and then send them back to us.

“If you were found to be a match for somebody who needs a stem cell transplant, these days in nine out of ten cases, donating your stem cells is a really simple procedure, it’s very similar to donating blood platelets.

“I think a lot of people have a misconception – because 20 to 30 years ago it was a big invasion operation, it involved drilling into the hip bone – today it’s a very simple procedure.”