Nursing student’s persistent cold was deadly cancer: Symptoms of acute myeloid leukaemia including feeling exhausted

A 21-year-old nursing student who thought she was suffering a persistent cold later discovered she had a deadly form of cancer. Ayley Crawford started a nursing degree at Glasgow Caledonian University aged 19 when she began experiencing repeated colds and sinus infections.

The teen, from Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, started feeling exhausted and weak "all the time" and struggled to keep food down. It came to a head when she fainted during an exam, and she sought medical help.

Her GP took a blood test and referred her to University Hospital Wishaw with suspected diabetes. Weeks later, after several tests, Ayley was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, an extremely aggressive type of blood cancer which requires urgent treatment.

“I had colds and sinus infections I just couldn’t shake,” she said. “I was feeling tired all the time and sometimes I was so weak I could barely stand. When I fainted during a practical exam at university, I just knew something wasn’t right.”

When Ayley received the diagnosis, she was terrified. Nearly 80% of people diagnosed with AML in the UK will not survive beyond five years. “My first thought was ‘I’m going to die’,” said Ayley. “I knew something was wrong with me, but I never thought it would turn out to be cancer.”

Ayley immediately began treatment, with four cycles of chemotherapy. “My hair thinned and I felt sick all the time," she said. "It was hard to be away from home, but I was honestly in quite good spirits throughout my treatment, thanks to the staff in the Beatson. I kept thinking, 'I just need to get through this and then I’ll be able to get back to my life'."

Thankfully, Ayley was told she was in remission in November 2024 and was able to get a part-time job, go on holiday and was hoping to go back to university the following year. However, in March 2025, a routine bone marrow biopsy revealed she had relapsed.

“I was devastated, I felt like everything I went through with my treatment had been for nothing,” said Ayley. “I’d been saying to my family that I was feeling so well, it was a complete shock.”

Ayley was told she would need a stem cell transplant, and a match was found with an anonymous donor from Australia. In July 2025 she was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

“Going through transplant was honestly the worst thing I’ve ever endured,” recalled Ayley. “I had ulcers in my digestive tract which led to significant weight loss. I wasn’t allowed out of my room for five weeks, but my mum, boyfriend Riley and my friend Melissa were able to visit. They were my only three visitors allowed.”

After her transplant, Ayley returned home to start a lengthy recovery, having to isolate for three months.  “I was still so weak. Even walking from my bedroom to the bathroom next door felt too much," she said. "The medications I needed to take gave me horrible side effects like rashes and swelling on my eyes. It was very hard for me dealing with how I looked as a young woman at the time.”

“Thankfully I had my family and friends, who supported me greatly. I slowly started to recover and was able to celebrate Christmas 2025, which was so special."

Ayley is now in remission and is planning to travel this summer before going back to university later in the year. “I’m so grateful for the treatment I received, but the anxiety around relapse will never leave,” she added. “My experience with leukaemia has impacted my life massively.

"I was a 19-year-old finding my feet in the adult world and it was all taken away from me in the blink of an eye. I was supposed to be graduating this year, and I’ve missed countless experiences with friends. I feel so behind.

“But the one good thing to come of it all is that I think it will make me a better nurse. I was really glad I was studying nursing as it made the medical terms so much easier and I could explain everything clearly to friends and family.

“Every ward I was on, the nurses wanted me to come and join them once I was qualified. So, I may actually go into oncology. But my main aim right now is to get back to university and to catch up on all my missed time.”

Fiona Hazell, chief executive of Leukaemia UK, said: “Many people aren’t aware of the signs and symptoms of leukaemia until they or someone they know is diagnosed. We are so grateful to Ayley for sharing her story and helping to raise awareness of what to look out for.

“Early diagnosis saves lives, so we want to make sure more people are aware of the signs and symptoms, and to contact their GP to ask for a Full Blood Count test if they’re experiencing them. Together, we can stop leukaemia from devastating so many lives.”