A blood cancer survivor from Tadworth helped launch a national drive to raise awareness of leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma last week.

Ann Bromley, 60, a patient ambassador for blood cancer charity Bloodwise, joined Embarrassing Bodies presenter Dr Dawn Harper at the Houses of Parliament this week to launch the blood cancer initiative.

Alastair Campbell and Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow MP hosted the event on Wednesday, September 14.

As a patient ambassador for Bloodwise, Mrs Bromley will try to raise awareness of blood cancers such as leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma and highlight the problems faced by people who suffer from them.

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Mrs Bromley (pictured above) was diagnosed with Stage 1A diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (a type of blood cancer) after complaining of stomach pains in 2002.

She was treated at the Royal Marsden in Sutton and after a series chemotherapy and a drug called Ritiuximab she was able to go into remission. However, she relapsed just three months later and in 2004 her lymphoma had returned yet again.

Mrs Bromley said: “I truly wish I had known about Bloodwise when I was going through my treatment”.

But after a combination of eight different drugs, chemotherapy and two years of maintenance treatment Ann has been in remission since February 2007.

Blood cancer is one of the biggest cancer killers and yet research commissioned by Bloodwise found that only one in 25 people were aware of its prominence.

Fellow Ambassador Dr Dawn Harper, presenter of Embarrassing Bodies, said: “It is not always easy to spot the signs of blood cancer, so it is wonderful that patients are coming together to help highlight the symptoms and issues surrounding the disease.”

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