‘I had blood, thyroid and breast cancer by my mid twenties – the experience inspired me to work for the NHS’

A young woman diagnosed with cancer of the blood, thyroid and breast by her mid-twenties has said it inspired her to pursue a career with the NHS.

Katherine Murrell, 27, from Great Dunmow, Essex, decided to pursue a career in the health service after being diagnosed with stage four blood cancer and being taken to hospital with a blood clot at the age of 16.

Katherine underwent months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy before being given the all clear.

Having originally considered a career in photography or with the police force before her experience, Katherine began training as an emergency medical technician (EMT), but was then diagnosed with thyroid cancer a day before completing the course in 2021, after spotting a lump in her neck.

Katherine was again given the all-clear after undergoing surgery but, fearing the disease would return later in life, she opted to have her breasts removed in a double mastectomy.

Shortly before the operation in September 2023, a tissue sample showed Katherine had breast cancer, but she pulled through and is now working for the London Ambulance Service, responding to emergencies across North Central London.

“Being told you’ve got cancer once is hard enough,” Katherine told PA Real Life.

“When I was told I had it again in 2021, of the thyroid, I was like ‘How?’

“And then when I got breast cancer last year, I was like this has got to be a joke.

“If it wasn’t for having that experience in the ambulance 11 years ago, I probably would never have been exposed to this environment or known that it was the right career for me.

“It’s exactly what I want, because for me it doesn’t feel like a nine to five and I come away from work every day feeling like that person needed me.”

Katherine was first diagnosed with cancer at the age of 16 after going to see the doctor about back pain.

What they initially thought was a trapped nerve turned out to be stage four lymphoma – a type of blood cancer which affects the immune system.

“I eventually got sent for some blood tests and a CT scan because they were worried about the pain in my back,” she said.

“Obviously it then flagged up tumours everywhere.”

While her fellow students were sitting their GCSEs, Katherine underwent six months of chemotherapy and a month of radiotherapy at the Royal Marsden, part of the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

During her treatment, she developed a blood clot in her lungs and was taken to hospital.

It was during this ambulance journey that Katherine decided she would one day return the favour by joining the NHS and helping others.

“The care those guys gave me was second to none, it was incredible,” said Katherine.

“They came into my life for all of about half an hour, and yet it was like they had known me for years.

“From that experience, I was like, this is definitely what I want to do. It just gave me that oomph.”

After completing her treatment, Katherine was given the “all clear” and soon after finishing school she began training to become an EMT.

But half way through the training, alarm bells went off when she noticed a swelling in her neck.

The day before graduating from her EMT course in 2021, a biopsy showed Katherine had cancerous cells in her lymph nodes and thyroid, which had to be surgically removed.

After the operation, Katherine was once again given the all-clear, but she feared the cancer would return again.

“When I was training I was petrified because I suspected I had thyroid cancer and wondered if I could still work at the Service, as well as wondering if I was going to be all right,” she said.

Doctors said that Katherine was at risk of secondary cancers, including thyroid and breast cancer, because she had received radiotherapy at such a young age.

She therefore opted to have a double mastectomy in 2023, an operation to remove both her breasts, so that she would not have to live her life in fear.

This decision may have saved her life, as in the run up to her operation, a tissue sample revealed a small tumour in her breast.

“It’s been really, really challenging and I would never pretend that it’s been pink and fluffy because it totally hasn’t,” she said.

“The hard times have obviously been very, very prevalent on me and my family – I can’t imagine what it must be like to see your daughter have it three times.”

Despite the challenges, Katherine, who was give the all-clear for a third time late last year, credits the disease with inspiring her to help others by joining the London Ambulance Service.

“Now, any time I go to a cancer patient at work, I am so empathetic – I just get it,” she said.

“When I go to patients like that – that’s when the penny drops for me that I’m in the right job.

“I get this wave of happiness that I’m in the right place, like I’m where I belong.”

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK, with about 150 new cases being reported each day, according to the NHS.

Katherine hopes her experience will help inspire others during October, Breast Cancer Awareness month.

To find out more about a career with London Ambulance Service, visit the vacancies page on their website https://www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/.