Brenda received her stem cell transplant December 2023 and is now at home in recovery. Read her story below.
ISLINGTON MOTHER-OF-THREE URGENTLY NEEDS BLACK COMMUNITY TO JOIN STEM CELL REGISTER TO SAVE HER LIFE
To help Brenda and others find their match please use the below two stem cell registers in the UK in order to sign up:
Anthony Nolan: if you are aged between 16 and 30 you can join this register by providing cheek swabs.
DKMS: if you are aged between 17 and 55 you can join this register by providing cheek swabs.
A 58-year-old mother of three has launched an urgent appeal for people of Black Caribbean heritage to step forward as a stem cell donor, four years after she was diagnosed with Cutaneous T-Lymphoma (CTCL).
Brenda McKenzie, a former Customer Services Representative has been battling with the rare blood cancer, a condition that affects the skin in a significant way through rash-like redness, raised, scaly round patches as well as skin tumors, and it can only be cured by a stem cell transplant.
Over the years, Brenda has received several types of treatment including prescribed medication, light therapy, and radiotherapy to treat the blood cancer, however, with her condition having progressed from stage one to stage four, presenting with abnormal lymphocytes spreading to the lymph nodes and her blood, doctors have confirmed she will now need an urgent stem cell transplant to beat it.
Brenda says:
“In 2017 I was admitted to UCLH for severe erythroderma of the legs and staphylococcus infection was heavily sedated on intravenous antibiotics. I spent a week there and I was discharged but was reluctant to return home because I did not feel well enough to leave. After one week at home, I was admitted again and spent another two weeks in hospital with the same issue.
Then in 2018, I was admitted again for erythroderma but on this occasion, it completely covered my whole body from head to foot and my skin was red and burning like fire. The same problem yet again intravenous antibiotics steroids and lots of creams to soothe my skin.
The next hospital admission was in 2019 when I came in as an inpatient at Whittington Hospital after my initial outpatient appointment on the same day. The dermatologist was concerned because my face had become swollen, and I had visibly large raised red lumps on my face which was a concern to the doctors. I had a reaction to the clinical trial I started two months prior, which resulted in me spending three weeks in hospital.
This is where my life changed for the worse, as I had biopsies performed which confirmed I had Cutaneous T – Cell Lymphoma. This was devastating news for me because over the years I had so many biopsies, but it never showed anything abnormal.”
For four years, Brenda has received a long list of medications to treat the illness, which has taken an incredible toll on her, affecting how she spends her daily life due to the extreme pain she is in as well as the side effects of the treatments received. Whilst it is Brenda’s prayer to beat the illness and live a life as close to normal as she can, she is finding the whole ordeal extremely challenging, physically as well as mentally.
Beverley De-Gale, ACLT co-founder says:
“Brenda was diagnosed four years ago in 2019, however, unknowingly, she had been living with early stages of the illness since 2017. That’s six years of living with a condition that impacts your everyday life, in a way none of us could imagine.
Brenda’s physical appearance has drastically changed due to the illness, as evidenced by comparing past and present pictures. In addition to the internal effects, the condition has caused visible swelling and lumps on her face.
Despite doctors searching the worldwide stem cell register for a match, one has not been found. Additionally, the number of treatments Brenda has received over this time have not put the blood cancer into remission. Brenda has progressed from stage one to now, stage four. Her chance of beating this illness is now in the hands of a stranger, someone who makes the self-less decision to join the stem cell register to help her and others like Brenda. I’m urging the Black community, particularly those of Black Caribbean heritage, to step forward and join the stem cell register to help Brenda, a member of the community, in desperate need.”
Donating stem cells to a patient in need is a simple nonsurgical procedure, which involves a donor being connected to a machine to collect their stem cells via one arm and then separating it from their blood and returning the blood to the donor through another arm. Ninety percent of stem cell donations are done this, way, with ten percent of stem cell donations being done using a needle and syringe under general anesthetic in hospital.
Beverley continues:
“Registering to the stem cell register is a simple process which includes providing a cheek swab and the completion of a form, that is it. If you are aged between 16-55 and you are in good health, please consider joining the register by visiting www.aclt.org today.”
To arrange a press interview with Brenda McKenzie or an ACLT spokesperson, please email your request to info@aclt.org
To help Brenda and others find their match please use the below two stem cell registers in the UK in order to sign up:
Please make sure you select ACLT as your reason for registering when signing up. (This is important because it allows us to track the number of signups that come through our charity.)
Anthony Nolan: if you are aged between 16 and 30 you can join this register by providing cheek swabs.
DKMS: if you are aged between 17 and 55 you can join this register by providing cheek swabs.