A Carmarthenshire mum has shared her blood cancer story, with the hope it may help others.

Mia Savage, 47, was diagnosed with the incurable blood cancer, myeloma, in December 2023 after 10 months of severe back and rib pain.

"Something felt wrong," said Ms Savage, who is a single parent and full-time carer.

"I just didn't feel like myself.

"I felt like I had done 10 rounds with the Incredible hulk but had no reason for it.

"I had pain in my hips and ribs."

She further described the pain akin to running up a steep hill and never regaining lost energy.

Upon her late diagnosis, she had a broken back, two broken shoulders, and lesions in her skull, legs and arms.

Ms Savage recalls the painful journey leading up to her diagnosis, including being misdiagnosed with long covid due to overlapping symptoms, and became increasingly immobile as her pain escalated.

A severe pain in her lower spine that she felt as a "ping" indicated a vertebra had snapped. She was sent home from A&E with Valium.

A return to A&E at the end of November led to her diagnosis a few days later.

Scans indicated a small mass pressuring her spinal cord and weakened bones.

She is currently awaiting a stem cell transplant.

Ms Savage is supporting Myeloma UK’s #InMyeOwnWords campaign to increase public awareness of myeloma.

She urges individuals to learn the symptoms and to seek professional help whenever something feels irregular.

Myeloma, a type of blood cancer, receives about 5,900 diagnoses annually in the UK, and is the third most common blood cancer and a simple blood test can pick up signs of it in most cases.

Unfortunately, due to its vague symptoms such as back pain, easily broken bones, fatigue and recurring infection that are often misattributed to aging or minor conditions, it is often missed.

One in four people wait more than 10 months for a diagnosis, among the longest delays of any cancer in the UK.

One initiative to aid in early detection is the symptom translator by Myeloma UK, designed with the aid of myeloma patients and GPs.

It allows the description of symptoms in comfortable terms whilst also providing their corresponding medical term.

Dr Sophie Castell, Myeloma UK's chief executive, said: "Every day counts while you’re waiting for a diagnosis, and yet a third of patients visit their GP at least three times before being diagnosed."