Leanne Williams, now 41, shared her extraordinary journey after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) at five months pregnant. The diagnosis in October 2017, following the discovery of a lump in her neck, led to a devastating ultimatum: undergo immediate treatment that would terminate her pregnancy or risk her own life.
"It's hard to put into words what it feels like to hear you have cancer, but hearing that while carrying a baby, there are no words," Williams stated, describing the forced choice between her life and her unborn son's. Three days after this decision, she gave birth to a baby boy named Theo, who did not survive.
Following the birth, Williams began intensive chemotherapy, a period she described as mourning her son while fighting cancer. By February 2018, she had reached remission, though treatment continued until October 2020. During this time, she experienced significant health setbacks, including the loss of use of the right side of her body and a life-threatening blood clot on her brain. She was placed in an induced coma for five days and underwent surgery to remove the clot, with her family being told to prepare for the worst. Upon waking, she had to relearn basic motor functions and restart chemotherapy.
Williams reached a five-year milestone post-diagnosis in November 2022, marking what she felt was her 'new normal.' However, just one month later, her cancer relapsed with increased aggression. Standard chemotherapy proved ineffective, leading to the devastating news in January 2023 that all treatments had failed.
Her hope for survival rested on a CAR-T therapy trial at King's College Hospital. CAR-T cell therapy involves engineering a patient's T cells to target and destroy cancer cells. This treatment is primarily used for blood cancers and is available on the NHS for certain young patients. The FDA in the United States approved its first CAR-T cell therapies in 2017.
Following the CAR-T therapy, Williams was offered a stem cell transplant, a procedure that replaces damaged blood cells with healthy ones. This ultimately led to her entering remission for a second time. She has since connected with her stem cell donor, Niklas, from Germany, expressing profound gratitude for his life-saving donation.
"I am just so thankful because, if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here. He's actually saved my life," Williams said. "I just think it's amazing that somebody from Germany has donated to a stranger, and I can imagine his feeling of just knowing that I'm here, he's saved my life, and I'm here for my children because of him."
The donor shared his perspective, noting the emotional investment in a stranger's recovery and his relief and joy upon learning of Williams's survival and well-being. "During the following weeks and months, I thought about you a lot… and more than a year later, I received the wonderful news that you were alive and doing well," he wrote to Williams.
While Williams continues with regular check-ups and manages some side effects, including early menopause due to treatment, she has established a new business called Ribbons of Resilience. The company offers care kits and gifts for cancer patients and caregivers.
"I enjoy helping other people, knowing that I'm giving something back," she said. "I was just thinking about everything I went through, and I think the one thing that was lacking was something for people to buy for patients."
Despite the lingering fear of relapse, Williams focuses on her business and advocates for others to seek medical attention for unusual symptoms and to cherish life's simple moments. "Every time you hit rock bottom, you have to (rebuild) brick by brick again, and I now have a different outlook on life," she stated. "When I relapsed, I lost everything… whereas now, I'm really enjoying my business and that's something that no-one can take away from me."