Banbury dental nurse diagnosed with leukaemia says lip filler saved her life

Dental nurse Edita Jucaite spoke to ITV News Meridian's Ciaran Fitzpatrick

A dental worker says she wouldn’t have been diagnosed with leukaemia if she didn’t have a lip filler injection.

Edita Jucaite from Banbury went for a cosmetic procedure which immediately made her lip swell.

Within days she received the shocking diagnosis which made other symptoms she was experiencing add up.

The doctor administering the injection told her to seek medical attention, after being surprised by what he witnessed.

The doctor carrying out the cosmetic procedure told Edita to go to her GP Credit: Edita Jucaite

Edita said, "He was shocked. He never had to experience that before and he's been teaching it for like 20, 30 years.

"He pushed me, 'oh, you should go and check your doctor with your doctor to check your bloods, maybe you're lacking of some vitamin D or something like that', so that's what actually pushed me to book an appointment with a GP."

Within hours of a GP appointment where Edita had a blood test, she was asked to go straight to hospital.

Tests confirmed she had chronic myeloid leukaemia. She had been ignoring typical symptoms like bruises and weight loss.

The dental nurse is urging people to be aware of the symptoms and to get tested

The news was incredibly distressing, Edita said, "It's a bit of a shock. I burst into tears.

"Wen you hear that it's leukaemia, you don't know anything about it and you think, oh, my God, I am so young, I can't die.

"But thank God I'm okay. I had my chemo tablet, chemo for a week, which I responded quite well."

She's now in remission following treatment but will have to take medication for life.

Edita said the diagnosis came as a shock Credit: ITV News Meridian

Every day 27 people in the UK are diagnosed with leukaemia and around 50,000 people live with the disease.

The blood cancer affects blood cells production in the bone marrow and experts say the disease is easier to treat if detected early.

Leukaemia Care say that as the signs can be non-specific many people don’t get checked out.

Charlotte Crowley from the charity said, "There are a couple of types of leukaemia, some are more slow-going while some are faster growing, but all of them have very similar symptoms.

"Those top three repeated infections, fatigue and easily bruising or bleeding, which we saw in data story.

"Some of the less common symptoms can be things like weight loss...but also fevers, sweating at night and swollen lymph nodes.

"They're all quite nonspecific. They could be lots of different things. If you don't feel right just go to the GP. The only way they're going to spot leukaemia is if we get a blood test done."

During Blood Cancer Awareness Month, charities found that less than 14% of adults can identify all major symptoms.

A list of symptoms associated with leukaemia:

  • Fever

  • Fatigue

  • Joint or bone pain

  • Repeated infections

  • Feeling weak or breathless

  • Bruising or bleeding

  • Weight loss

  • Swollen lymph nodes

  • Stomach discomfort

  • Nausea or vomiting

  • Numbness in hands/ feet

  • Heart palpitations

  • Sleeping problems

  • Headaches

  • Muscle Pain

  • Back Pain

  • Itchy skin

  • Loss of concentration

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