A London mum has lost nearly three inches in height after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of blood cancer. Antoinette Carr, 49, had just returned to work as a Projects Administrator after the birth of her second child when she felt extremely tired.

She assumed that it was simply the result of being a mum to two young children, but it turned out to be multiple Myeloma. The mum from Enfield visited her GP initially thinking her symptoms might be down to a vitamin deficiency and so the shock of the diagnosis caused an "out-of-body experience" and she wasn't to know the diagnosis would result in a years-long ordeal and multiple fractures in her spine.

After a series of tests, Antoinette was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, an incurable form of blood cancer in February 2012. She told MyLondon: "I just felt so tired. I thought it would be a vitamin deficiency or something, I never even considered it would be cancer. But when doctors said I needed a bone marrow biopsy, that's when the penny dropped."

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"It almost felt like an out of body experience," she added. "It was like I was in the room, and I could see the doctor's mouth moving, but I couldn't actually hear or take in what he was saying to me."

Multiple myeloma, also known as myeloma, is a type of bone marrow cancer. Bone marrow is the spongy tissue at the centre of some bones that produces the body's blood cells . In the early stages, it often doesn't cause any symptoms and is only diagnosed after a routine blood or urine test. Eventually, it may show up with a persistent bone pain and tiredness.

To confirm the diagnosis, Antoinette had to endure a bone marrow biopsy to test how much myeloma is in the blood. Antoinette said doctors numbed the area of her back and took a long needle "like a skewer" and twisted it into her back "like a corkscrew".

"I felt it all," she said. "It was worse than childbirth. The pain was just horrendous.

"Even to this day I've had to have biopsies and every time the doctor says to me, 'we're going to have to do bone marrow biopsy'. I just broke down crying, begging for sedation."

Over the past 10 years, Antoinette has had eight different chemotherapy treatments including a autologous stem cell transplant all to varying degrees of success. She got used to visiting hospital regularly, often up to three times a week as her cancer went through periods of shrinking and growing.

But at its worst, just a week into the COVID-19 pandemic, the cancer cells had spread into Antoinettes spine, weakening it and this caused 13 separate spinal fractures and collapsed vertebrate's, leading to her losing three inches in height.

One day, she was washing her hair over the bath when she stood up and had a sharp pain in her back. Undeterred, she went into her bedroom to get the hairdryer out when she was unable to pick it up. Antoinette explained: "I called my husband. I went downstairs and sat down but then I couldn't move.

"On the way to the hospital I just kept throwing up in the car. By the time we got to the hospital, I was covered in it all and so embarrassed. Doctors then said I had four fractures in my back."

Antoinette had an operation and was given a back brace and told to rest up. However her pain got worse and eventually she was unable to even go to the toilet by herself without the help of her husband Richard.

Doctors believed she may have been given the wrong type of brace, which lead to her back being unsupported and the thirteen total fractures, which were inoperable. She now requires a walking stick.

"A few of the vertebrae had completely collapsed, they couldn't fix them," she explained. "So as a result, I've lost three inches in height. I know because the tap in the kitchen. I used to look down on it. Now the taps are basically in my face. I've got a shorter spine, I've essentially collapsed like a pack of cards.

"If I'm standing up and you look at me from the side, you can see me hunched forward as I've got like a curve in my back. I do try to stand up straight but it's quite painful. When I'm standing up straight and I'm walking, it feels like there's a magnet pulling me forward. So I use the walking stick to give me a more upright posture.

"And there's nothing more doctors can do about the hunch and as someone who's not old, it really does affect me. It took me ages to be able to look in the mirror and not cry."

Although Antoinettes future is determined by the results of her monthly blood tests, she is still determined to live the life that she has in full. Many treatment options have now been exhausted, but she was accepted into a clinical trial for a new experimental drug since November 2021. She has been responding well to the treatment so far, but the trial has been extremely tough on her, due to the many side effects.

Unfortunately a stem cell match has also yet to be found for Antoinette, but she remains hopeful even after all that she has been through. She added: "It's my kids and my husband that keep me going. This is why I keep fighting because I want to see them grow up. Every milestone is a blessing. I just couldn't imagine not being there for them."

Antoinette's best friend Jenesse has been fundraising to get her to Jamaica for her 50th birthday to see family. You can donate here. Jenesse also urges others to add themselves to get stem cell register in case they are a match for Antoinette, or another blood cancer patient.

Stem cells can grow into any other cell in your body and this means they can be used to treat a wide range of blood cancers and disorders. For some people, a stem cell transplant, which is also known as a bone marrow transplant, is the only hope of survival.

However, 65 to 75 per cent of those in need (about 400 UK patients) are unable to find a sibling match so rely on the generosity of strangers. Those interested as in registering as a donor must order a swab kit online which can be done on the Anthony Nolan website here.

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London mum loses 3 inches in height due to curved spine after devastating cancer diagnosis - My London

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