EastEnders blood cancer story 'raises awareness'
BBCA young Londoner with a rare form of blood cancer has worked with TV soap opera EastEnders to encourage young black women to "speak up" with concerns about their health.
Mphango Simwaka was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) at the age of 24.
Now EastEnders has created a storyline where the character of Denise Fox, played by Diane Parish, has been diagnosed with the disease.
Diagnosis - and survival - rates among black people with AML are lower than for white people.
Simwaka told BBC London she had to battle to get a diagnosis: "I know from dealing with health professionals and the NHS for a really long time as a black woman, I have to advocate for myself.
"It was difficult. I did almost give up but luckily I had great friends and family that kept kept me going and kept me pushing till I got the answers that I needed."
Gemma Trout from the charity Blood Cancer UK worked with EastEnders script writers alongside Simwaka on the AML storyline.
"EastEnders allows us to raise awareness about blood cancer and many people don't know that it's the third biggest cancer killer in the UK and the fifth most common cancer.
"AML is a type of blood cancer, so by working with EastEnders we're raising awareness and understanding around signs and symptoms, but also how the intensive treatment can really affect the patient and the loved ones and everyone around them."
Trout said that with blood cancer there are lots of "signs and symptoms".
She added: "For AML we would look at fatigue which doesn't get better with sleep, bruising and bleeding that's unusual, lots of infections that last a long period of time.
"It's really about your own body and thinking, actually, this is not right for me, particularly when one is young and just being really mindful of how long these signs and symptoms can last."
Simwaka said her advice to anyone with health concerns is "know your body and know yourself.
"If you need a second opinion, keep going."
Trout said there was support for the approximately 3,000 people diagnosed with AML every year, both from Blood Cancer UK and the NHS.
"AML is treated differently for different people, but it's very intensive treatment and it lasts a long time. So use places like Blood Cancer UK if you want to talk through your concerns or you're needing to find more support.
"You're not alone. I think that's the main message from our charity and it's important to feel supported when you're in a really quite lonely place."
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