A woman who received a terminal cancer diagnosis over two decades ago after a seemingly innocuous nosebleed has finally entered remission.

Kathryn Oddie, 63, from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, was told she had just five years to live after being diagnosed with the blood cancer myeloma in 2000.

For the next 20 years, Ms Oddie endured countless therapies and trials, battling frequent infections that repeatedly landed her in hospital.

These health struggles forced her to miss significant life events, including her daughter's first baby shower.

By 2020, doctors informed her that all treatment options had been exhausted. However, a glimmer of hope appeared in 2021 with the arrival of teclistamab, a drug Ms Oddie describes as "life-changing".

Within six months of starting the treatment, she achieved remission for the first time in 21 years.

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Ms Oddie is determined to cherish the time she has with her two grandchildren, seven-year-old George and four-year-old Hattie. She now looks forward to creating new memories with her family, a prospect that once seemed impossible.

“I remember a consultant once told me, ‘My main goal is to get you to 40’,” she said.

“Never in a million years did I think I would be standing at the school gate taking my grandchildren to school.”

Prior to her diagnosis, Ms Oddie explained that, other than having her appendix removed, she had never experienced any major health issues.

However, in 2000, aged 38, everything changed when she had a sudden nosebleed at work – something she had never experienced before.

She had a blood test, which revealed she was anaemic, and she was prescribed iron tablets that same day.

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However, the next week, she got a knock on the door from the GP who she worked for.

“He said, ‘I’m terribly sorry, it’s something really serious, you need to go to hospital tomorrow’.”

Ms Oddie underwent further tests at the hospital, including a bone marrow biopsy, and was informed she had myeloma.

She described the diagnosis as “devastating”.

“Within a week, I had a nosebleed and I was on chemotherapy,” she said.

“I went from being the nurse, being in charge, to being the patient – it was absolutely mind-blowing.”

Despite being the third most common type of blood cancer, myeloma is especially difficult to diagnose as symptoms, such as pain, easily broken bones and fatigue, are often linked to general ageing or minor conditions, Myeloma UK says.

Treatment can lead to periods of remission, but the cancer will inevitably come back.

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Ms Oddie’s consultant told her the cancer was “treatable but not curable”, but there were limited treatment options available at the time.

She underwent chemotherapy and put her name forward for every clinical trial and treatment available to her over the following years, including two stem cell transplants.

By 2020, Ms Oddie said she had undergone 11 lines of therapy but none had put her in remission, and she was told she had exhausted all treatment options.

However, when her consultant reached out to a former colleague at UCL in London to ask about new clinical trials, it was discovered a new experimental drug called teclistamab was under way.

Ms Oddie enrolled in January 2021 and, within around six months of taking the drug, she was told she was in remission for the very first time since her diagnosis.

She believes she was one of the first people to take the “miracle drug” in the UK.

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“It was relief, but not elation,” she said.

“For all these years, I’ve gone from trial to trial… but without these trials, I wouldn’t be here today.”

She said the “wonderful” support of her husband Andrew and family has kept her going over the past two decades.

“I’ve missed a lot of things, but I’ve seen a lot,” she said.

“My GP calls me Wonder Woman.”

Ms Oddie said the care she has received has been “second to none” and she hopes she can be an inspiration for others diagnosed with incurable cancers.

Having joined forces with the charity Myeloma UK, she wants to help raise more awareness of myeloma and the importance of research into new drugs.

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