Veterinary nurse Ruby Broughton is on a mission to help the Anthony Nolan Trust after receiving life-saving treatment

A Fenland veterinary nurse is hoping to raise money and awareness for a charity that has offered her the chance to beat cancer.

Ruby Broughton, a nurse at Medivet in Wisbech, is battling a virulent form of leukaemia and is having on-going life-saving treatment thanks to the Anthony Nolan Trust.

The 22-year-old was diagnosed with acute myloid leukaemia last summer and underwent lots of chemotherapy before being given a stem cell transplant thanks to a donor found through the Anthony Nolan Trust’s register.

Ruby, from Terrington St Clement, explained without the transplant she would not be here today. But despite its success she still needs further treatment to prevent the disease from coming back.

The aim of a transplant is to replace the patient’s DNA with the donor’s – the higher the replacement percentage the better – and ideally needs to be around 95 per cent to give the best possible chance of stopping the cancer from returning.

Unfortunately for Ruby the transplant has only replaced 51 per cent and so she now needs to receive lymphacytes – white blood cells – from her donor to increase the DNA level.

She said: “I now have two DNAs, my own and my donor’s. My blood, saliva and urine all have her DNA. I know my donor was a woman who is roughly the same age, height and weight as myself, but I’m not allowed to know more for two years post transplant.

“But I know she is an incredibly selfless person, without her there is no doubt I would not be here now. She donated her stem cells and has also donated lymphacytes – enough for seven rounds of treatment.

“I have had my first round and will have the second one next month. I will have to have it every 12 weeks to raise the overall DNA level.”

Ruby was diagnosed with leukaemia after suffering what she described as extreme fatigue and flu-like symptoms. She self medicated thinking it was something that would just go away, but after sitting her practical vet nurse exams she became seriously ill and was vomiting blood.

The prognosis was poor as she was in the advance stages of the disease, but she had aggressive chemotherapy before being prepared for the transplant, which involved taking her almost to the brink of death.

“I was in terrible pain and so close to dying, I had organ-failure and the doctors hoped my body would be strong enough to recover.

“Luckily it was and I am now able to walk around, but still get very tired. I passed my vet nurse exams despite being so ill and I can’t wait to get back to work,” said Ruby, who has been supported through it all by her brothers Jack and George, mum Christine Hobbs, stepdad Gary Hobbs and dad Jamie Broughton, who normally lives in Spain but has been home for the past year to be with his daughter.

Ruby had a lot of her treatment at the Teenage Cancer Trust Unit at Addenbrooke’s. She has already raised £4,000 for that charity but has now set her sights on helping the Anthony Nolan Trust.

She said: “September is Blood Awareness Month. I will be raising money for Anthony Nolan all month doing cake sales and various other things.

“Without Anthony Nolan, I simply wouldn’t be here. They saved my life by finding me my donor! They enabled me the chance to recover from leukaemia. I was fortunate. My donor was a 10/10 match, others aren’t as lucky. We need as many people on the donor list as possible.”

To donate visit Ruby’s Justgiving page.