Claudia went to A&E in January 2023 after experiencing pain in her back followed by numbness and tingling. Doctors found a large tumour on her spinal cord and Claudia had emergency surgery for this. She was diagnosed with a rhabdomyosarcoma, an extremely rare type of cancer. Claudia was then referred to The Christie for chemotherapy, surgery and proton beam therapy.
At The Christie, Claudia’s treatment included 9 rounds of intense chemotherapy, 26 sessions of proton beam therapy and 6 months of maintenance chemotherapy. She was treated in the proton beam therapy centre at The Christie, as well as The Christie’s dedicated Teenage and Young Adult (TYA) service.
The TYA service at The Christie opened in 2014, with £10 million raised by wonderful supporters of The Christie Charity. Charity supporters also fund ground-breaking research for TYA patients, helping discover and develop new treatments.
Claudia’s care at The Christie has continued following her treatment, with access to services which have been supported by The Christie Charity, including a physiotherapist, occupational therapist and psychologist. She’s now supporting our campaign to build a new scanning centre at The Christie, to make the scanning experience better for our patients.
“The treatment and support I received at The Christie was invaluable. I had constant support from my specialist clinical nurse, support from other patients in the TYA unit and members of staff in both the TYA unit and the proton beam therapy unit.”
“I have had amazing support from every member of staff at The Christie. Their personalised care helped me throughout treatment and beyond and encouraged me to return to university and build my life back.”
