Nurse's life changed forever after lip filler swelling led to horror diagnosis

Edita Jucaite was told to seek GP advice after receiving a routine lip filler procedure and was told to seek hospital attention not long after having her blood taken

A nurse's life changed forever after she experienced a common side effect of a popular cosmetic procedure.

Edita Jucaite, 36, had tried different procedures before without experiencing negative reactions afterwards, but a lip filler injection she received in April last year caused uncomfortable swelling. The injection, which the nurse received from a doctor colleague, immediately made her lip swell and caused severe bruising.

After administering the injection, Edita - who had also been losing weight - said the doctor advised her to see a GP, who ordered a blood test. She received an urgent call from the surgery not long after having her blood taken informing her that she needed to go straight to the hospital.

The GP suspected she may have leukaemia, and further tests confirmed that Edita had chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), a cancer of the bone marrow and white blood cells. She was quickly given oral chemotherapy and is in remission, but will need medication for the rest of her life to prevent this disease from returning.

Edita, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, credited the lip filler for the life-saving discovery, saying she may never have visited her GP if the bruising had not led her colleague to push her towards seeking a doctor's advice. She said: "Not many people can say that lip fillers saved their life - but I can!

"If the bruising hadn't happened and I hadn't been encouraged to see the GP because of it then I may well have put it off again and again which could have then meant the leukaemia may have progressed and been much harder to treat. I had no idea about the signs and symptoms of leukaemia - I was happy to be losing a bit of weight as I was about to go on holiday and I drank a lot of energy drinks which may have disguised my tiredness.

"There definitely needs to be more general awareness of leukaemia and what to look out for so more people can be diagnosed in time for treatment to be effective, like I was." Leukaemia Care and Leukaemia UK have released new findings from a YouGov poll of 2,000 UK adults which found that less than a sixth (14 percent) of the UK adult population are able to identify all the four main symptoms of this blood cancer - these are unusual bruising, unusual bleeding, fatigue, and repeated infections.

The organisations say this is contributing to more than a third of those diagnosed finding out the life-changing news at A&E. Throughout the UK, there are around 10,000 people diagnosed with leukaemia every year - and almost 5,000 deaths. Annually, 37 percent of those diagnosed with leukaemia receive this news in A&E - more than any other cancer type1.

In addition, people diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) are disproportionately affected as over half of them are diagnosed in emergency settings. This type of leukaemia is particularly aggressive and develops quickly, so early diagnosis and treatment are even more essential.

Every day, 27 people in the UK are diagnosed with leukaemia, and currently, over 50,000 are living with the disease. Despite common misconceptions, leukaemia is not just a childhood disease as it predominantly affects those over 65.