22/09/2025
Emma Butler, 32, from Dublin was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML) in August 2022. It’s a rare cancer that commonly affects adults over 60 and is more common in men.
“My mum used to come with me to my appointments, and the other people in the waiting room would expect her to get up when my name was called," says Emma.
“The second I'd walk into the doctor’s room, people would say things to her like, ‘I didn’t realise she was the patient, I thought she was here for someone else’, and they were surprised that ‘someone so young and who looks so well would have cancer’.”
Emma had been experiencing some seemingly mild symptoms in the months before her diagnosis but decided to see her doctor when her periods stopped.
“I had fatigue and I had night sweats, but it was during the summer, and I was really busy with work, so it was easy for me to write those symptoms off,” she says.
“I do remember that I could feel the blood moving around my body, it felt like treacle. It was a really strange sensation.
“Then, suddenly, my periods stopped. I went to my GP, and they said they’d do a full blood count. I got a call a couple of hours later, telling me that I had to go into hospital in a couple of days for an appointment, so it was very swift.”
Emma is sharing her story to mark World CML Day. Read her full story here: https://brnw.ch/21wVZv7
