A woman had to call off her wedding after being diagnosed with a form of blood cancer – and now time is running out to save her life.
Salma Shah had been eagerly planning her special day when she suddenly came down with a cold.
The 45-year-old thought it was due to stress, but when her neck swelled up, she started to fear the worst.
After a series of tests, it was confirmed Salma had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, which is uncommon in adults.
Now, tying the knot to her fiancé, Marlon, 43, has been put on hold until she can find a suitable stem cell donor who can save her life.
But matches are rare, with only 7% of the UK on the register and especially as 16% of those are from an ethnic background like Salma.
“I went from planning my wedding to sitting in a hospital organising my funeral and writing a will,” the rent and home ownership recovery manager, from Watford, told Need To Know.
“It all happened so quickly.
“The weekend before, I was trying on wedding dresses and I had everything booked and planned.
“We were getting married in a few months, so I had no choice but to cancel the wedding.
“I felt absolutely gutted.
“I had been waiting to send out invites, but that same day, I had to send everything back – my dress, the bridesmaid dresses, all of it.
“I just sat there having a mini meltdown.”
Before falling ill, Salma was healthy and active.
She was due to tie the knot on 3 May 2025, though in January, that’s when she got her aforementioned diagnosis – and her whole world came crashing down.
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is a form of blood cancer and over 400 adults are diagnosed with the disease in the UK every year, according to Cancer Research UK.
Salma had started off with a chest infection, then a lump behind her ear, before suffering with night sweats and fatigue.
She said: “I used to run in the morning, go to the gym in the evening and also do Muay Thai.
“But quickly, I found the energy zapped out of me.
“I thought it was the perimenopause, but I kept getting ill with infections and colds.
“When my neck swelled dramatically, I knew something much worse was going on.
“I kept telling my colleagues not to worry about how I looked, as I thought it was just the mumps.
“But the doctors called that same evening telling me to get to the hospital immediately.”
Salma had to start chemotherapy right away as the cancer had spread to her brain and spine.
While it didn’t initially work, after four rounds, the tumours had gone.
Currently, there is less than 1% cancer in her bone marrow, though her body will continue to produce cancer cells until she receives a stem cell transplant.
She’s working with charity DKMS to help find her a donor, online and in-person, with a donor drive being set up soon.
Salma is quickly running out of treatment options, as continued chemotherapy will only delay the inevitable.
She added: “It’s the kind of thing you think will never happen to you.
“Without chemo, the cancer will grow very quickly.
“And there’s no telling if it will get used to the treatment, so things could change quite quickly if I don’t find a match.
“I’m relying on strangers to give me a second chance at life.
“Finding a donor would mean I can focus on my future, walk down the aisle and spend the rest of my life with the love of my life.
“Marlon is the reason I’m fighting this battle.
“For now, I want to use the time I have left well.
“Regardless of the outcome, we’re still planning to get married once I’m in a fit enough state – donor or not.”
