5 Minutes with…a CLL Patient
Let’s Talk Blood Cancer: The Patients Podcast, brings you 5 minutes with… host Adam Joyce sits down with, Mat Cronin, who shares his journey after being diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) in 2024.
What went through your mind when you first heard the word leukaemia?
I couldn’t believe it. I hadn’t even heard of leukaemia before. I just knew it sounded scary, and that my life was going to change forever.
Do you have any memories that stand out from your diagnosis?
I went in for what I thought was just a random blood test, and I was referred to an oncologist. I had no idea what kind of doctor that was at the time!
Week one, they said, “It’s probably not this.” Week two, “It’s unlikely to be this, so let’s rule it out.” Then, week three, on 18 January 2024, I was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia.
Did you feel your identity change after diagnosis?
It became my identity pretty quickly. I was trying to have individual conversations with my friends and tell people in my own time. I ended up telling a few people, and then they started telling other people, so word spread fast. Before I knew it, it had become my identity.
How difficult was it not being able to do normal, everyday things?
I had Tumor Lysis Syndrome (TLS)* on the first day of chemotherapy. I genuinely thought I was going to die. I started questioning whether I would ever be able to go back to a normal life again.
*TLS can occur when cancer treatment, more commonly chemotherapy, kills a large number of cancer cells very quickly. As the cancer cells die, their contents enters into the bloodstream creating a dangerous chemical imbalance.
What advice would you give to others going through a similar journey?
There will be good days and there will be bad days. You will have your family and friends by your side to support you, so make sure you accept the help.
They might not be able to be by your bedside 24/7, but they will be there for you. Don’t try to predict or assume how your journey is going to go. Most importantly, make sure you accept it when people are trying to help.
Watch 5 Minutes with Mat here:
