A 23-year-old teaching student has spoken out about her diagnosis with blood cancer, after mistaking her symptoms for simple illness.

Niamh Edelsten, from Govanhill, was diagnosed with Acute-Myeloid Leukaemia on January 14, after initially seeking medical attention for a chest infection.

Niamh, a primary teaching student at Strathclyde University, said: "It started when I had what I thought was a chest infection and I couldn't get rid of it.

Glasgow Times:

"I was on round after round of antibiotics and nothing was shifting it but it turns out that persistent infection is a symptom of blood cancer, which I didn't realise at the time."

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With symptoms moving along, Niamh was then being treated for anaemia and labyrinthitis, an inner ear infection.

She also says that she started experiencing heavy periods, which she later found out was another sign of cancer: "I was having 51-day cycles, which just isn't normal.

"I have always had heavy periods but this was unlike anything I'd had in the past.

"I also kept fainting, which made me ask about anaemia, but when I spoke to the doctor, I could tell that they were concerned about the mix of symptoms."

Eventually, Niamh, who turned 23 yesterday, was diagnosed with blood cancer.

She said: "I think it's really important for girls to know that these heavy, irregular periods could be a symptom of blood cancer, because if you had asked before my diagnosis I don't think I'd be able to tell you one symptom of it."

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Niamh has now begun her treatment at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, with six-months worth of chemotherapy underway.

Her family have since launched a fundraiser to 'Run 50k for Blood Cancer UK', after Niamh said that she wanted to raise awareness of the symptoms.

The fundraiser has been a massive success so far, with more than £12,000 raised within a matter of days.

Glasgow Times:

Carol, Niamh's mum, said: "Her cousin Rebecca launched the page and within around two hours it was already at £4,000, we were all blown away by the response and during the pandemic too."

Relatives will run 50k in February for the charity, with family members from all over the world getting involved with the fundraiser.

Niamh said: "The support of my family means everything and my phone has been going non-stop.

"My boyfriend Euan has even shaved his head already because he knew how anxious I am about that.

"It's unbelievable that we've raised this much money already but for me the biggest thing is raising awareness of the symptoms so people know what to look out for."

To donate to the 'Run 50k for Blood Cancer UK' fundraiser, you can find the JustGiving page here.