Gabrielle Altoft, 32, from Norfolk, initially attributed her health problems to an old mattress. However, tests have shown that suffered from acute myeloid leukemia (AML) – an aggressive form of white blood cell cancer that progresses quickly and requires immediate treatment, writes Poral
In November 2025, she began experiencing “terrible” lower back pain shortly after changing mattresses with her son. In addition to back pain, she also suffered from extreme fatigue and shortness of breath. At first, she thought the cause was the old memory foam mattress she was sleeping on. When painkillers didn’t help, she saw a doctor. According to her, he evaluated her difficulties as a common back injury and recommended her for physiotherapy.
Although she underwent blood tests, she said doctors did not detect any abnormalities, even though her white blood cell count repeatedly dropped. Gabrielle even bought a new mattress, but her condition did not improve. Instead, the pain worsened to the point where she was unable to walk. After another visit to the doctor, she was sent for further blood tests on December 16, 2025. The very next day, December 17, 2025, she was asked to report to the hospital immediately. She was subsequently diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
“I feel disappointed. I knew that if someone had taken the time to look at all my blood results back in early November it would have been very obvious that something was wrong.” she spoke out and appealed to others to pressure doctors if they felt something was wrong.
Leukemia progresses quickly and aggressively, requires immediate treatment, and its symptoms often develop within a few weeks. Extreme ones are among the most common tiredness, shortness of breath, frequent infections and unusual or frequent bleeding.In some cases, a bone marrow or stem cell transplant is also necessary.
