Student given just weeks to live after lower back pain was rare cancer

A 20-year-old university student who thought he had just pulled a muscle in his back has been given weeks to live after his symptoms were diagnosed as a rare type of cancer.

When Dylan Lamb first experienced the pain in April last year he didn’t think much of it, and requested painkillers from his GP.

However, weeks later the pain became “unbearable” prompting a trip to A&E.

Here a blood test confirmed that his white blood cell count was “through the roof” leading to a hospital admission for more tests.

Dylan, who studies international business at the University of Liverpool, was then diagnosed with precursor T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a rare type of blood cancer.

Just three days later he started chemotherapy.

His girlfriend of three years, Phoebe Cole, 20 told the Mail Online: “He had this lower back pain that could have been multiple different things, he thought he had pulled a muscle.

“We were coming home for Easter, and it got progressively worse, he lost his appetite and was being sick.

“His mum took him to A&E in unbearable pain and a blood test showed his white blood cells were through the roof.

“It all happened so fast, he was diagnosed with leukaemia and then three days later he was having chemotherapy.”

Dylan, from Staffordshire, was transferred to Nottingham City Hospital so he could be looked after by a specialist haematology team and a Teenage Cancer Trust unit.

He underwent more chemotherapy, as well as bone marrow biopsies, high dosage steroids and intrathecal injections.

Dylan also decided to have his sperm frozen in case the chemo made him infertile.

His aunt, Kelly, described the effect of the treatment as “devastating”.

In a GoFundMe page for Dylan, she wrote: “Dylan is a kind, funny, genuine, nice, caring young man, loving life.

“Heartbroken does not even begin to explain how the whole family felt.

“The effect this treatment had on Dylan’s body and mental health was devastating.

“His face swollen and puffy due to high doses of steroids, his stomach extremely swollen due to his internal organs swelling making it impossible for him to sleep and effects on his mental health which left him not wanting to see his loved ones.”

In July 2022 Dylan was told he was in remission and in September he underwent a stem cell transplant before being discharged in October.

Dylan was able to return to university saying he felt “normal again”.

But in June this year the pain in his lower back returned.

Phoebe, 20, explained: “Literally two weeks ago the lower back pain came back and he said he knows this pain and it felt familiar.

“He went back to his doctors at Nottingham City Hospital and asked them to check him over.

“A blood test showed nothing, and he went home.

“He admitted himself into hospital as he wanted an MRI, it showed nothing, and he had another blood test on June 29 which showed his blood cells were inclined.

“He was told the leukaemia has come back and he has weeks or months left to live.

“It was a massive shock to the system, especially as we had been told he was fine, not fine and fine again.

“His family are amazing and are supporting him. He is keeping his sense of humour and is being really up beat, but I know deep down he must be scared.”

His family believe Dylan’s only option for lifesaving treatment is to be enrolled in a clinical trial in the US.

This treatment would involve taking the DNA of his T-cells and re-engineering it so the cells attack the disease and not each other.

With this treatment costing more than £500,000, Dylan’s family have created a GoFundMe page to try to raise enough money to get him there.

So far generous donors have raised more than £87,000.

Phoebe added: “It will be life changing for him and for the rest of us [to get treatment in the US].

“The support so far has been insane, the most amazing thing to see is the amount of people who don’t know him who are donating. It means so much to us all.”

Express.co.uk has contacted Nottingham University Hospital Trust for comment.