23-Year-Old Working at Movie Theatre Dismissed His Weight Loss & Dizziness As Migraines, Turned Out To Be Leukemia

Understanding Leukemia

• Hamish Graham was diagnosed with leukemia at age 23 after experiencing what he thought were symptoms of a migraine. He wasn’t diagnosed with the blood cancer until he got a blood test after feeling incredibly fatigued during a walk with his mom and grandmother.
• Leukemia is different from other types of cancer because it is not just broken down into stages of severity but into different categories based on the cells that grow into cancer cells and how quickly those cells develop.
• It’s unclear what type of cancer Hamish Graham has, but it’s important to understand there are four basic categories doctors use to identify the different types of leukemia: acute leukemia, chronic leukemia, lymphoid leukemia and myeloid leukemia.
• When it comes to your health, sometimes it’s necessary to be a little pushy to get answers. SurvivorNet’s medical experts urge patients to advocate for their own health and seek multiple opinions if necessary.

Hamish Graham, from Littleborough, England, initially dismissed his head pain and dizziness as a migraine until he lost a significant amount of weight without trying and was overcome with tiredness—something which prompted his mom to push for him to get blood work done. He was ultimately diagnosed with leukemia. Graham, a movie theater employee who was 23 years old at the time of his diagnosis, first noticed his symptoms in March 2020. However, the doctor he saw informed him he was most likely experiencing migraines. It wasn't until he was going on a walk with his 57-year-old mom Sarah and his grandmother that he was depleted of energy. The child cancer survivor, now 28, is sharing his story after completed three years of chemotherapy and raising money [nearly $40,000] for the The Christie Teenage and Young Adult Unit and Teenage Cancer Trust, charities he's strives to give back as he previously fought a rare brain tumor at age seven. "We were going to walk around to my grandma's. We couldn't go inside because of Covid, but we were going to walk around and wave through the window," Graham said during a recent interview, according to LAD Bible . "I just felt tired and I couldn't go any further. My mum then tried to get me in for a blood test." After the abnormally extreme fatigue set in, his mom urged medics to do additional blood tests on him, as his prior doctor visits left him thinking he was simply dealing with a migraine. The blood tests thankfully revealed that he had leukemia, a cancer of blood-forming tissues, as well as bone marrow.

According to MedlinePlus , symptoms of leukemia, some which Graham had, may include:

• Feeling tired
• Night sweats
• Fever
• Bruising or bleeding easily
• Weight loss

A leukemia diagnosis is usually done through a physical examination, blood and bone marrow tests, as well as genetic tests.

Expert Blood Cancer Resources

• Blood Cancer Comes in More than 100 Varieties: How They Differ & What They Have in Common
• Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) — What Are The Symptoms?
• A Better Medication For Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia & Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma: Zanubrutinib
• Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)–An Overview of Initial Treatment
• What is a Blood Cancer – How is it Different?
• How Race Affects Blood Cancer Risk
• CAR T Cell Therapy Gives Hope Where There Was None to People With Certain Types of Blood Cancer

Recounting how learning he had cancer for a second time, Graham said it felt like "déjà vu," and the diagnosis, "got me down a bit." His mom chimed in, "It was quite traumatic for both of us. I think a lot of the stuff from the first battle resurfaced and the stuff we had to deal with, especially being in isolation, brought everything back up. "One of the good things was that some of the staff that treated Hamish when he was seven were still there." Since Graham, who previously underwent six weeks of radiotherapy and 18 months of chemo to beat his brain tumor, was diagnosed with leukemia in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic—resulting in him needed to isolate before starting chemotherapy. Graham isolated for six weeks before started his three-year chemotherapy plan. He has since been declared "cancer free." As for how he feels now, Graham, who endured "lots of infections" and setbacks amid treatment, explained, "I feel okay ... and am looking forward to getting back to speed with work. I still work now, but not as many hours as I used to, but I'm getting there."

Understanding Leukemia & Blood Cancers

Leukemia is different from other types of cancer because it is not just broken down into stages of severity, but into different categories based on the cells that grow into cancer cells and how quickly those cells grew. In this blood cancer, one type of white blood cells is growing out of proportion to the others, and taking up the body’s resources. A patient's bone marrow will become filled with these blood cancer cells, and that could result in anemia, abnormally low levels of platelets and white blood cells failing to fight off infections. The Different Types of Leukemia There are four basic categories doctors use to identify the different types of this blood cancer:

• Acute leukemia grows very quickly.
• Chronic leukemia grows more slowly, over several years.
• Lymphoid leukemia grows from lymphoid cells, which produce antibodies and protect against viruses.
• Myeloid leukemia grows from myeloid cells, which is the body’s first defense for bacteria.

Leukemia is a cancer of the blood, and blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, are cancers that primarily affect the bone marrow, the area in your bones where new blood cells are produced. Because they effect the bone marrow, blood cancers are different than solid tumors like those of the lung, prostate, and breasts. When you have a blood cancers like multiple myeloma something goes wrong with each blood cell type produced in the bone marrow:

• Red blood cells: The cancerous blood cells for multiple myeloma crowd out healthy red blood cells or inhibit the production of new red blood cells. This causes anemia due to low red blood cell counts.
• Platelets: The production of platelets is hindered by the presence of cancerous plasma cells in the bone marrow. Without functioning and sufficient platelets, the body cannot properly form blood clots to stop bleeding. Symptoms include random nose bleeds and bruises.
• White blood cells: In multiple myeloma, cancerous plasma cells grow uncontrollably in the bone marrow and crowd out other functioning white blood cells. As a result, the immune system can't function properly, increasing the risk of infection and causing fatigue.

Dr. Nina Shah , hematologist at UCSF, summarizes blood cancers by explaining, "One cell got really selfish and decided that it needed to take up all the resources of everybody else, and in doing so, took up space and energy from the rest of the body. In multiple myeloma, the cells that become selfish are plasma cells." What is a Blood Cancer – How is it Different?

Leading Experts Urge Patients to Be Proactive

As we highlight in several areas of SurvivorNet, highly respected doctors sometimes disagree on the right course of treatment for an ailment, and advances in medicine are always creating new options. Also, in some instances the specific course of treatment is not clear cut. That’s even more reason why understanding the potential approaches to your disease is crucial. RELATED: Burned Out Doctors Make More Mistakes: It’s OK To Talk Openly About This With Them Furthermore, getting another opinion may also help you avoid doctor biases. For example, when seeking care for cancer, some surgeons may have an affiliation with a radiation center. Cancer Research Legend Urges Patients to Get Multiple Opinions “So there may be a conflict of interest if you present to a surgeon that is recommending radiation because there is some ownership of that type of facility,” Dr. Jim Hu, director of robotic surgery at Weill Cornell Medical Center, previously told SurvivorNet. Other reasons to get a second opinion include:

• To see a doctor who has more experience treating your type of disease
• You have a rare disease
• There are several ways to treat your illness
• You feel like your doctor isn’t listening to you, or isn’t giving you good advice
• You have trouble understanding your doctor
• You don’t like the treatment your doctor is recommending, or you’re worried about its possible side effects
• Your insurance company wants you to get another medical opinion

Bottom line, being proactive about your health could be a matter of life or death. Learn as much as you can from as many experts as you can, so that you know that you did your best to take control of your health. Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff