An inspirational schoolgirl who was saved from cancer thanks to a stem cell transplant from a stranger has vowed to help others living with the disease.
Iona Sutherland was only three weeks into her first term of secondary school when she was diagnosed with leukaemia.
Now the 14-year-old, who endured months of chemotherary before a transplant match was found thousands of miles away in mainland Europe, has shared her remarkable story of survival.
Iona, from Kinross, has been chosen to help launch Stand Up to Cancer in Scotland, the fundraising drive set up by Cancer Research and Channel 4 with backing from celebrities including Davina McCall and Alan Carr.
“Cancer took almost a year of my life,” she said. “It was a rough ride, isolating and really scary at times.
“Treatment left me in a wheelchair at my weakest, but I fought back. I got back on my feet.
“I got through it thanks to the most amazing support from my family and wonderful friends. But during my time in hospital I met some children and teenagers with cancer who didn’t make it.
“That’s why I’m proud to support Stand Up To Cancer and help raise money to save more lives, more quickly.”
Iona pulled on an orange tutu to fund-raise with friends from Kinross High School.
As part of Stand Up to Cancer, the UK has been asked to wear a “stand out” item of orange to show their support and raise money for vital research.
Iona said she desperately missed her friends after she was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of 12 on September 10, 2014. She had visited her GP for a check up after feeling tired and dizzy.
The results of her blood tests came as a huge shock to her parents Shona and Craig Sutherland.
Iona said: “I spent that first night in hospital at Ninewells in Dundee and was too upset to sleep.
“The next day I was allowed home to pack my stuff before I headed with my mum and dad to the Edinburgh Sick Children’s hospital. I remember looking around my bedroom, not knowing the next time I’d get to sleep in my bed. It was frightening.”
Iona began four cycles of intense chemotherapy, which made her hair fall out and left her feeling extremely sick.
But her friends stuck by her every step of the way, with hundreds of messages pouring in on Instagram under the hash-tag ‘Stay Strong Iona’.
Iona’s best friends took turns to visit her in hospital and regularly send her cards and gifts to show she was always in their thoughts.
After the second cycle of chemotherapy, Iona went into remission. But just before her 13th birthday, she suffered a bad reaction to medication and ended up in intensive care for a fortnight.
“It scares me that I still can’t remember those two weeks of my life,” said Iona.
“All I do remember is feeling pain everywhere, being unable to focus then collapsing. I had seizures for two weeks. I remember waking up in a dark room in intensive care after two weeks, thinking where am I?”
Doctors explained that a stem cell transplant was Iona’s best chance of remaining cancer free. It meant searching the worldwide stem cell register for a match to Iona’s tissue type.
The first suitable donor who was contacted was unable to take part, so doctors stretched their search further afield to mainland Europe.
Iona had conditioning chemotherapy to kill off her bone marrow in preparation for receiving the donor’s healthy cells which would reboot her immune system and stop leukaemia cells from growing again.
The transplant when ahead on April 10, 2015, and the donor’s cells were a perfect 10 out of 10 match.
Iona said: “I still don’t know which country in Europe the stem cells were from.
“I just know they were donated by a man. In my mind’s eye, they were donated by a big, muscly German guy but it could be an Italian or someone from Spain. All I know is that I’m really grateful to him, wherever he is, for helping me to stay well.”
“Surround yourself with family and friends”
Iona was among the first patients to move in to the new £842 million Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
She got the chance to see the Queen and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at the official opening last summer.
However, a series of infections meant Iona was not well enough to leave the hospital for good until August 2015.
Daisy, a schnoodle puppy, who came to live with the family just days after Iona was eventually discharged from hospital proved to be a perfect welcome home gift and the best therapy to help Iona’s slow recovery.
Now a year on, Iona is back at school with her friends and is particularly enjoying her drama classes. She is also preparing to audition for the Perthshire Youth Orchestra.
Iona said she will never forget the kindness of her friends during the worst year of her life.
She has some words of wisdom for youngsters who are going through a similar ordeal: “You are not the only person going through it.
“Surround yourself by family and good friends who make you feel good and try not to worry too much. Hang in there and know things change so quickly.
“You might have a horrible morning then in the afternoon feel so much better. Keep putting one foot in front of the other as there is always hope.”
Every day, 85 people are diagnosed with cancer in Scotland. Cancer Research UK is calling on all Scots to Stand Up to Cancer and do something to help raise money at work, school or at home – from fancy dress days and sponsored silences to bake sales and open mic nights.
The charity’s spokeswoman in Scotland Lisa Adams said: “We’d like to thank Iona and her school friends for standing out in the fight against cancer.
“We’re asking Scots to stand out in style this October and help raise crucial funds for life-saving research by pulling on a bright orange item of clothing, then getting sponsored for wearing it.”
She added: “One in two people in the UK will develop cancer at some point in their lives, and there’s still much more to do to ensure no one’s life is cut short by this devastating disease.
“Stand Up to Cancer raises money to speed up breakthroughs from the lab to the patients who need them right now.”
Since its launch in 2012, the campaign has raised more than £25 million.
