Leukaemia patient hopes to cheer on sisters

A woman with leukaemia who went from a doctor to a patient in the same hospital is hoping to be well enough to cheer on her sisters at the London Marathon.

Alice Bolton, 28, from Surrey, was living in Melbourne, Australia, and working as an emergency care doctor when she noticed her energy levels dropping.

"One week I was able to run 20km but the next I was struggling to run 5km," she said.

"I also noticed swollen lymph nodes in my neck and bruising on my legs so thought I should get a blood test as I suspected I had a viral illness like glandular fever."

She had the blood test at the hospital where she worked and said a doctor soon called telling her to go to A&E immediately.

Within an hour, Ms Bolton went from being on shift to being a patient in a bed. And on 16 May 2024, she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

Every year, almost 3,100 people in the UK are diagnosed with AML, a fast growing, aggressive blood cancer, according to charity Leukaemia UK.

Ms Bolton's sisters Emma, 31, and Kate, 29, will run Sunday's marathon on her behalf, raising money for the charity.

Following her first round of chemotherapy, Ms Bolton was strong enough to return to the UK and continued treatment in London.

By October, she was in full remission, rebuilding her strength through running and was hoping to run the marathon with her sisters.

But a routine test in March this year revealed that she had relapsed and would need a stem cell transplant as part of her treatment.

Her sisters were perfect matches, which Leukaemia UK said was "an exceptionally rare occurrence with only a 6% likelihood".

"When we found out, it felt like magic," Kate said. "It reaffirmed the deep bond we've always had."

Ms Bolton is hoping to be well enough to cheer her sisters on and plans to hold a sign saying: "Run my stem cells, run."

Emma added: "Running became a source of strength for us all.

"We'll be running for Alice and everyone affected by leukaemia."

Also running the 26.2 mile (41km) course will be 37-year-old Elliot Awin, from Dorking, who had a pacemaker fitted in 2020.

In 2024, he became the first person with a pacemaker to complete a solo row across the Atlantic.

He will run for the British Heart Foundation having been diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a heart condition that makes your heartbeat abnormally fast, and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, in 2015.

"My heart condition might have changed the course of my life, but I would never have rowed across the Atlantic if it hadn't been because of it," he said.

"I've never let my heart condition stop me from achieving my goals and hope that I can inspire others to do the same."

A former member of the Household Cavalry will also be running to raise money for the World Horse Welfare charity.

Steven McKay, from Cobham, who has since retrained as a farrier, will take part on what will be his 42nd birthday.

Mr McKay, who once escorted Queen Elizabeth II and former French President Jacques Chirac down the Champs-Élysées on Bastille Day, said he had a natural affinity for horses from a young age.

"My mum put me on a pony before I could walk and I took to it like a duck to water," he told BBC Radio Surrey.

Sunday will be his third London Marathon but the first time he will fundraise for World Horse Welfare.

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