Cancer patient taking steps towards recovery after stem cell transplant

A cancer patient who received a stem cell transplant has challenged herself to walk 10,000 steps a day for a month to raise cash and help her recover.

Emily Land, 21, from Leeds, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in October 2021 but, despite a course of intensive chemotherapy, her cancer came back.

She suffered sepsis three times and pneumonia twice during treatment and doctors told her a stem cell transplant was her best chance of survival.

Following a search, a matching stem cell donor was found through the Anthony Nolan stem cell register in November, and Ms Land had her life-saving transplant in December.

Following the transplant, she was unable to walk on her own, sometimes only being able to do three to five steps a day before becoming exhausted.

The work that Anthony Nolan did is very much the reason I had a second chance at life. That’s why I want to do as much as I can for them

Emily Land

Now, as part of her recovery, she is walking again and is doing 10,000 steps a day for four weeks to raise money for Anthony Nolan.

She said: “Anthony Nolan is close to my heart. With the charity’s help, my friends and family campaigned across the country to try find a stem cell match, and, in the end, I found a donor all the way over in the Netherlands.

“The work that Anthony Nolan did is very much the reason I had a second chance at life. That’s why I want to do as much as I can for them.

“For my recovery, my doctors said the best thing to do is try to be as active as possible.

“Hopefully by doing this I can encourage more people to sign up to become potential life-savers for people like me.”

Ms Land is sharing her progress on TikTok in the hope of raising awareness of Anthony Nolan’s work. She has also set up a JustGiving page.

About 2,400 people in the UK need a stem cell transplant from a stranger every year.

Without our supporters, our work simply wouldn’t be possible; without them, there would be no cure for patients like Emily

Henny Braund, Anthony Nolan

Henny Braund, chief executive of Anthony Nolan, said: “All of us at Anthony Nolan are thrilled to see how well Emily is doing after her transplant, and it’s especially heart-warming to hear that she wants to raise money to help us continue our lifesaving work.

“Without our supporters, our work simply wouldn’t be possible; without them, there would be no cure for patients like Emily.

“The funds that Emily raises will allow us to sign up more potential stem cell donors to the Anthony Nolan register, and any one of them could give a second chance at life to someone with blood cancer.”

– To find about more about joining the Anthony Nolan register, visit www.anthonynolan.org