20 Oct 2026

“Why should a cancer diagnosis stop me from doing everything I love.”

Charlotte Krzanicki

Charlotte Krzanicki works as an Education Director for a large Education Trust covering schools in five different regions across the East Midlands. It’s a big job, involving lots of travel and long days, alongside the normal demands of caring for her two teenage children at home. Charlotte was used to feeling tired. But in the summer of 2021 on a walking holiday in the Peak District with husband Marek, daughter Lucinda and son Max, she began to feel the tiredness had become something else.  

“I couldn’t keep up with them,” said Charlotte, 51 who lives near Peterborough in Cambridgeshire. “I started the holiday exhausted from work which is fairly normal with my job. Usually the summer holidays are a time to recover, reconnect and relax. We did bike rides and walked up Tors, which I would normally have no problem with, but I felt breathless with rapid heart palpitations. I also had multiple extremely painful mouth ulcers – one healed and the next week there was another one. I was 46 at the time and that summer holiday I felt like I never recovered.   

“I started back at work in September still exhausted. One day I couldn’t walk up the stairs at home without feeling breathless, and I collapsed at the top. I thought I had a virus. At that point my husband insisted I didn’t go to work and needed to phone the doctor instead. 

“We were still post-covid so I got a phone appointment. He thought it might be stress as I repeated my concerns about the palpitations, so he gave me tablets, I think maybe beta blockers – they had no effect. He did say if I wasn’t better in a week to come back.” 

Charlotte two months before diagnosis

Still battling with her symptoms, Charlotte also visited A&E at the weekend and was prescribed antibiotics for the mouth ulcers and a painful ear infection.  

“I rang my GP again the following week as I didn’t feel better, and he called me in for a blood test the next morning. That afternoon he rang me back and said he wanted me to come back to the surgery. There he told me my blood results were abnormal, and I needed to pack an overnight bag and go to hospital. He gave me a letter to take with me which he told me not to open – I said to him of course that was the first thing I was going to do once I got out the door so he should tell me face to face. He said he thought I had acute leukaemia.  

“I was in complete shock. I knew nothing about leukaemia apart from that it was blood cancer. I immediately started googling and it went to all the worst-case scenarios. My head was spinning.” 

Charlotte’s husband Marek came straight away to take her to A&E at Kettering Hospital. They were shown to a private room on the haematology ward, where she would stay for the next eight months.  

“The first thing they did was give me a blood transfusion as my red blood cell count was rock bottom. I was also given loads of antibiotics. I met my consultant who was calm, thorough, and supportive, something he continued to be throughout my stay. He said that as it was likely to be a long stay in hospital, he wanted me to go home for the night, have a nice evening with my family, get properly packed and come back the next day. That really helped. Once I was back in, I was fully isolated, had more transfusions, tests and a bone marrow biopsy.” 

Charlotte in hospital

On Wednesday 30th September 2021 Charlotte was officially diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Treatment began within the week. 

“I had four rounds of chemotherapy, followed by a stem cell transplant. The whole process was exhausting, with sickness, hair loss, fatigue and bone ache throughout. At its worst it would take an hour to convince myself to get out of bed to have a shower. My husband always said he knew when I was getting better between each round because I started to tell him I was really bored! I was allowed home briefly between each one. He is a primary school Head and did an amazing job juggling work with visiting me every day, running the house, looking after the children and our dog. 

“The staff at Kettering hospital were also amazing. They kept my spirits up, talked me through all the procedures and helped me through the darkest of days. I made sure I showered and changed every day, walked the corridors of the ward when possible and when I felt well enough read books, watched films, learnt to knit and paint again.” 

At the end of her treatment, Charlotte returned home for a month’s break and to prepare for her stem cell transplant. She had been told from the beginning that a transplant would be the surest way of maintaining the remission that the chemotherapy achieved. Charlotte’s brother and sister were tested, and her brother Matt was a match.  

“In April 2022 I went to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge to prepare. The whole process was seamless. I had 10 days of conditioning chemotherapy – just as my hair had grown back, I lost it all again. Matt came in to donate on the same day as the transplant and blasted out far more than the required number of stem cells which he still talks about to this day! The actual procedure – just a transfusion really – is almost an anticlimax. I was out in 12 days and bounced back so quickly. I felt well, my blood count came back, and I had a lovely long summer of recovery, dozing in the garden, a week by the sea and going to a family wedding.” 

In October Charlotte was thinking about going back to work part time but then started to feel like she wasn’t quite 100% right. Her routine bone marrow biopsy revealed the devastating news that she had relapsed. 

“The consultant said they’d caught it early and that he wanted to put me on Gilteritinib tablets to get on top of it. Fortunately, it worked incredibly well, and I have now been in remission for nearly five years.” 

Charlotte’s brother Matt donating cells

Charlotte has also had some donor lymphocyte infusions from her brother’s donated cells and continues to take the daily tablet. While she still experiences fatigue, bone ache and occasional neuropathy symptoms in her hands, she feels otherwise well and is now back at work four days a week and living life to the full.  

“My family were by my side throughout. My husband was and is my complete rock, he took care of everything, visited every day, kept the children positive and liaised with everyone. I am now enjoying seeing my children start and graduate from university and hope to continue to see them grow into the amazing adults they have become. I can’t wait to travel further abroad again but the cost of travel insurance currently is a real barrier to exploring the world due to the increased amount you have to pay after diagnosis. 

“One thing that really helped me was accessing counselling. I applied for free sessions through Leukaemia Care and then continued privately for two years as I found it so invaluable. There is trauma – sometimes the beeping of the transfusion machine or a certain smell takes me right back. It also affects the whole family. There’s suddenly a massive void left at home when that person has just disappeared into hospital with no warning. There’s so much emphasis on the patient but the partner, children, parents, wider family, friends – it impacts them too. Fortunately, we’ve all come through it and are keen to give back to the charities that have supported us” 

Charlotte’s husband and daughter have run several half marathons raising money and awareness for leukaemia charities and, as she reaches five years post stem cell transplant, her daughter is running the London marathon. Charlotte volunteers as a Leukaemia UK Community Champion to give back from her experience. 

Charlotte after treatment

“I embrace every day. I am now back skiing annually, horse riding and attending weekly yoga classes. I realise now of course how precious life is, you should not take it for granted, I want to enjoy it. Going back to my job was important as I’ve worked hard for my career and love what I do, but I now have a much better work life balance. I enjoy my job, my hobbies, my family and friends, so why should a cancer diagnosis stop me from doing everything I love.”