I’m waiting for my hero, says mum in donor plea

A mum who was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer while she was 15 weeks pregnant with twins is urging people to join the stem cell register to help save her life.

Katie Matthews, 32, from Lincoln, was diagnosed with myelofibrosis, a type of cancer that prevents blood cell production, in July 2024.

She was also told she had six years to live if she does not receive a stem cell transplant.

Mrs Matthews said: “I will fight so hard, but that’s what you do as a mother. I’ve got something to fight for, and I’ll do it shouting.”

During an ultrasound in June 2024, Mrs Matthews found out that she was expecting twins.

She was also told by medics that she had an enlarged spleen and a blood clot in her portal vein, the vessel which carries blood from the organs in your abdomen to your liver.

After a bone marrow biopsy a few weeks later, she was diagnosed with myelofibrosis (MF).

Mrs Matthews said: “The most heartbreaking thing was telling my mum and dad that their child has cancer.

“Then to sit with my other son, who was nine at the time, and tell him that his mummy has cancer, his eyes filled with fear.

“He knew how terrifying that word was.”

The rare type of blood cancer leads to scar tissue building up inside the bone marrow, which impacts its ability to make red and white blood cells and platelets, according to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Mrs Matthews said she had been told a stem cell transplant was the only cure for the cancer – but her brother was not a match.

She hopes by encouraging people to join the stem cell register, she can find a donor for herself and for other people.

“I’ve got so much hope for me and other people on the list that we will find a donor, and I will do everything I can to help anybody,” she said.

A charity football game has also been organised to raise money for Mrs Matthews and her family on 24 May at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln.

“Cancer is such an awful thing, but life still goes on around you, bills still need paying,” she said.

“I can’t work, and my husband has had to stop working to help look after me and the babies and do everything else that life throws up. Financially, it is extremely hard.”

She added: “It’s heartbreaking to know we’re not the only people going through this.”

Anthony Nolan is a UK-based stem cell transplant charity.

The organisation has its own stem cell register, which matches potential donors to patients in need of transplants.

It is encouraging younger donors to join the register to help people like Mrs Matthews.