Newport girl had cancer while doctors thought she was stressed

Kiera Hodges, a 16-year-old student with a passion for musical theatre, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in January last year after experiencing tiredness and severe headaches.

After a year in which she became so ill she was unable to walk, Kiera and mum Andrea have looked back on a particularly difficult recovery, and have made a plea to people to join efforts to keep Cancer Research UK going in the face of financial pressures caused by the pandemic, after the charity helped save Kiera's life.

Kiera on her 16th birthday, after a gruelling recovery

Thinking back to when her daughter received the diagnosis, Andrea, a performing arts lecturer, said doctors had assured them it was nothing to worry about.

“It was December 2019 and Kiera just wasn’t feeling brilliant," she recalled.

"She was tired and had some joint pain. She was rehearsing for a lead part in a show, so we thought maybe she was overdoing it.

“We were at Cardiff’s Winter Wonderland when Kiera had a really bad headache and she said she needed to go to hospital, which wasn’t like her at all.

“I called the GP to arrange an appointment and they thought she was stressed from school, but I had a feeling something underlying was going on.

“We didn’t think it was leukaemia. We thought they would give her some medication and she would be fine.

Andrea and Kiera

Doctors thought Kiera was struggling with school, but it turned out she had cancer

“They kept us in hospital and that’s when I started Googling and I started to worry. The next day we found out she had ALL and we needed to go straight to Heath Hospital.”

To make things even more difficult for Kiera and her family, she also tested positive for the Philadelphia chromosome - a mutation in the cells which means the patient goes from moderate to high risk.

Fast forward 15 months and Kiera and has experienced a number of challenges throughout her treatment - and at one stage was told she could lose her leg.

She also experienced other problems including steroid-induced diabetes, two blood clots, a pulmonary embolism, and has had a colostomy operation.

“In September last year she was struggling to walk due to myositis,” Andrea remembered.

An old picture of Kiera with dad Tim and mum Andrea

“She then almost lost her leg from the knee down due to inflammation from the chemo.

“It has been really, really tough. It is so hard for her as she’s a teenager and her body has really been through it. There have been many low points, but she continues to amaze us with her resilience.”

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Kiera’s treatment has included nine months of intense chemotherapy, steroid treatment, immunoglobulin therapy, and has undergone several procedures including regular lumbar punctures and bone marrow biopsies.

She no longer has diabetes and is able to bear weight on her foot again.

Kiera with dad Tim and mum Andrea

“We are hoping things will get better and Kiera will be on maintenance treatment in the summer," Andrea said. "She has just gone back to school so that has been a big shift for us, but I think it will really help her mental health."

The family have also had to deal with the extra pressures of the pandemic.

“We were sent home from hospital on March 23, just before the first lockdown," Andrea added. "We had to deal with a leukaemia diagnosis and diabetes on our own.

“Going through everything during a pandemic has been horrendous. We’ve haven’t had our usual support from family and friends, and we’ve been shielding so face-to-face contact has been extremely limited.

“We actually look forward to going to hospital just so we can speak to people.”

A remaining constant is Kiera’s amazing spirit and her determination to get better.

“She’s very sociable," said Andrea. "Really bubbly and quite confident. She loves musical theatre. That was her life before she got poorly. She is thinking about doing something in the medical profession now after what she has been through.”

An old picture of Kiera with dad Tim and mum Andrea

And she added losing her hair as a result of chemo hasn’t dampened her daughter's style.

“Kiera has some amazing wigs," she said. "She has a grey, trendy short one and a pink one. We are trying to find a rainbow coloured one, but lockdown has put that on hold for now.

“We are tight and solid as a family. I think the experience, although really difficult, has brought us closer together.

“On the cancer journey, you can think things are alright one minute and then fall through a rabbit hole the next. You can be in the depths of darkness, and then see a light when things turn out better than you expected. It is such a rollercoaster.”

And now, Kiera and her family are urging people to run, walk or jog 5K for Cancer Research UK. They will be cheering on thousands of people from across the UK who have vowed to Race for Life at Home this April either alone or in small, socially distanced groups to raise money for life-saving research.  

The family have now turned their attention to fighting to fundraise for Cancer Research UK

Cancer Research UK is predicting a staggering £300 million drop in income caused by the pandemic over the next three years, and Kiera knows exactly how vital it is to keep raising funds for life-saving research.

She said: “My goal is to spread awareness. Not enough people know what cancer truly entails. I want to keep fighting for people who have lost their fight – not a day goes by when I don’t think about them.

“I really hope people across Wales will get behind Race for Life at Home and help raise funds for research to develop gentler and more effective treatments for cancer."

A live broadcast on the Cancer Research UK Race for Life Facebook and Race for Life Instagram pages on Saturday April 24 will include an energiser from a fitness expert as well as inspirational messages of support from people who have been through cancer.

Participants are then invited to run, walk or jog 5K. Organisers are also inviting participants to share photos and videos on social media using the hashtag #RaceatHome.

People can visit raceforlife.org to sign up to Race for Life at Home for £5* then receive a Race pack which includes a medal.  Money raised will help scientists find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, helping to save more lives.