Eleanor Woulfe – “You Might Have To Give Birth At 25 Weeks”
In the latest episode of Cure Leukaemia’s Let’s Talk Blood Cancer: The Patients Podcast, host Adam Joyce sits down with Eleanor Woulfe to share the story of her diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) 24 weeks into her first pregnancy.
Eleanor’s Symptoms
November 2024 was the month Eleanor remembers as the time she fell pregnant with her first child. In the months that followed, Eleanor continued to live her everyday life, working at the University of Birmingham, going out with friends, and keeping up with her fitness routine. Aside from morning sickness and other first-trimester illnesses, Eleanor felt great within herself.
In February 2025, Eleanor began to feel lethargic and experienced breathlessness during everyday tasks, such as walking to the train. These were symptoms that friends and family linked to the pregnancy, taking its toll on her body.
In March 2025, Eleanor noticed that the lymph nodes in her neck had begun to swell. After seeing her GP and undergoing a blood count test, which came back normal, the issue was suspected to be a viral infection, and she was treated with antibiotics.
A few weeks later, Eleanor noticed the same lymph node swelling under her arms. Once again, she went to see her GP, and her blood count test came back normal. When Eleanor went back to the GP for a third time with swelling in the lymph nodes in her groin, she was referred to a haematology centre.
Eleanor’s Treatment
After being referred to the haematology centre, Eleanor was told she was being treated for “suspected blood cancer”, as her consultant wanted to be sure that was the case. Eleanor’s first thought was: “I wasn’t concerned about me whatsoever, I was concerned about my baby.”
On that Saturday, Eleanor received a call from her consultant confirming that she had blood cancer and was referred to the Queen Elizabeth (QE) Hospital in Birmingham. By Sunday night, she was in a bed at the QE.
During this time, Eleanor recalls difficult conversations about not undergoing chemotherapy to ensure her baby’s safety. She remembers a standout conversation with a nurse, who told her, “If you don’t have the chemotherapy, your baby won’t have a mother.”
At one stage, Eleanor was told she may have to give birth at 25 weeks to begin chemotherapy as soon as possible. However, after discussions with her doctors and reviewing current research, her consultant identified chemotherapy options that had been shown not to affect unborn babies.
After Eleanor’s first round of treatment, tests on her bone marrow showed she was not in remission. This meant she was unable to take a break before her next round of chemotherapy and would not be able to carry her baby to full term.
Eleanor’s Delivery
Eleanor delivered her son, Dara, through a planned C-section at 32 weeks. Born on 20 May 2025, weighing 3lbs 6oz, Dara spent eight weeks in neonatal care receiving extra oxygen and support. However, Eleanor and her partner Joe were informed almost immediately that Eleanor’s chemotherapy had not affected Dara and that he was a healthy, strong baby.
In the first weeks of Dara’s life, Eleanor struggled with “mum guilt”, balancing mornings of chemotherapy with afternoon visits to see Dara in the NICU, often without taking the time to look after herself.
Eleanor’s Treatment Post-Delivery
In October 2025, Eleanor received a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor after her siblings were found not to be a match. After undergoing what she described as a “brutal” week of total body radiation and spending a month in hospital being monitored following the transplant, Eleanor was finally able to return home.
Eleanor has recently celebrated 100 days with her bone marrow showing no detectable signs of cancer. As a result of her treatment, she was placed into early menopause, which she says highlights just how much of a blessing Dara is to her and her family and how grateful they are that he is a strong and healthy baby.
Eleanor says she is now “a completely different person from March 2025” and hopes that by sharing her story, other patients facing similar situations will know they have support and can get through it.
Watch Eleanor’s podcast episode in full: