14 Apr 2025

Alice Bolton: “In an hour I went from being in the doctors’ areas to being a patient”

The moment they are told they have leukaemia is rarely something any patient forgets. But for Alice Bolton it was particularly surreal. Because the emergency medicine doctor was on shift in A&E when she was told her blood tests were abnormal and she needed to go straight to….. A&E.   

Alice Bolton before her diagnosis

In May 2024 Alice was living in Melbourne, Australia, with her partner Hayden. Both emergency care doctors, the pair were on an exciting working year abroad before starting their GP training. As well as a busy working life Alice also dedicated a slice of her schedule to her fitness routine, in particular running.   

“I was training for the Great Ocean Half Marathon,” said Alice, now 28. “I used to do the odd 5k but I really wasn’t a runner. However, my housemate wanted to do the marathon so I decided to train too. All was going well. Then one week I noticed I was able to run 20km but the next I was struggling to run 5km. I also noted some lymph nodes in my neck and bruising on my legs so thought I should get a blood test via the GP as I suspected I had a viral illness like glandular fever.”   

Alice had the blood test at Box Hill Hospital where she worked.   

“Within hours of my test, the haematology registrar called me and told me I must immediately go to the emergency department – ironically I was already there working my shift. I said to the doctor on the phone “actually I’m already there”. Hayden was on shift with me so we went to the family room. The emergency haematological registrar came down to meet us and told us it looked like I had leukaemia and needed to be admitted. Within the space of an hour I went from being in the doctors’ area to being a patient in a bed.”   

On 16th May 2024 Alice was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) a cancer that she was aware of but had never encountered in her professional life.   

“We’d covered it for two weeks as part of haematology in medical school but I’d never had a patient present with it. When I received the news, I was in complete shock. Thankfully, Hayden was there with me so I was not alone and he has been incredible throughout the whole process, always by my side. We said that for the first 48 hours while they did bone marrow biopsies and more tests we wouldn’t look up any details about AML. We would just wait to hear what they said. But I knew the prognosis wasn’t good. It was a Thursday and if I’d run the half marathon on the Saturday I would have undoubtedly collapsed and maybe worse.”   

Once details were clear, Alice had the heartbreaking task of ringing her family in the UK including her sisters Kate, age 29 and Emma, age 31. Alice’s parents, Penny and Charles, flew out to Australia immediately to be with her and with the aim of bringing her back home to the UK for treatment.   

“When they arrived, we got the news that I was not fit to fly. My white cell count was 75, whereas it should have been less than 12, so I was at risk of a heart attack or stroke. So Emma and Kate then flew out. They stayed with me during my first round of chemotherapy, which started immediately, alternating who stayed the night, and keeping me entertained. We did endless arts and crafts together as a distraction, and my family made sure I stayed positive and kept moving – we even set goals for daily laps of the ward!   

“I will never forget the day that Alice told us she had leukaemia,” said Kate. “My mum had come to my house for another reason and she got out the car and said I’ve got bad news. I had this weird gut feeling that it was about Alice and when Alice confirmed over the phone that it was leukaemia I felt like the earth had shattered. Alice is my little sister by just 15 months and we have been inseparable since birth, even sharing a room till we were 10 years old. Knowing she was halfway across the world in Australia, I felt completely helpless and overwhelmed.   

“The next 48 hours felt like the longest two days of my life as we waited for news about Alice’s prognosis and whether she could come home. Emma and I would just lie awake waiting for any update. When we got the news that she wasn’t well enough to come home we immediately got on a flight to Australia. I always say that my biggest blessing in life is having two sisters and honestly, I couldn’t have got through that initial period after Alice’s diagnosis without Emma by my side. As soon as we got to Australia, we were obviously faced with the reality that Alice was very unwell, but at the same time, it was a relief to all be together.”  

“That first round of chemotherapy was particularly hard,” said Alice. “I was very sick and weak and it was the worst time that I had during my cancer journey. Going from being a doctor to a patient was difficult to process. I started losing my hair very quickly and took the decision to shave it off myself. I had numerous transfusions of blood and platelets and to this day am so grateful to anyone who donates blood.”   

Alice was told that she might need a stem cell transplant to give her the best chance of going into remission. “Both my sisters, to whom I’ve always been incredibly close, tested for stem cell matching and they were BOTH a match. Medically this is incredibly unusual – only around 6%.”  

“When Emma and I had our bloods taken for the stem cell matching, I remember closing my eyes and wishing on absolutely everything that one of us would be a match,” said Kate. “When we got the news that we were both a match, it was an incredible sense of relief and also magic as we realised the odds of all of us being a match were so small. Although it was really all down to genetics, I felt that it was also a reaffirmation of our sister bond and how deep our connection lies.”  

After her first round of chemotherapy Alice was allowed to fly home to the UK to complete her treatment. All her friends and family were at the airport to greet her at Heathrow airport. As soon as she and Hayden landed, she received an important email from her doctors in Australia. “They told me that I was in morphological remission. Although I still had leukaemia, this meant I had responded really well to the treatment and would not need a bone marrow transplant.”   

Three more rounds of chemotherapy were given to Alice in London under the care of renowned haematologist Professor John G Gribben. In October 2024, Alice found out she was in full remission and celebrated with a weekend in the Scottish Highlands with her sisters while Emma ran a mountain marathon.   

Alice focused on regaining her fitness and getting back to the running she loved. “In between chemotherapy sessions, my sisters and I would build up my strength by going for slow runs together as it boosted morale outside after being isolated in hospital when my immunity was low.”   

The trio then came up with an extraordinary plan. Kate and Emma had already been scheduled to run the London Marathon the previous year but had pulled out after injury. They’d signed up again, committing to run for Leukaemia UK – and as Alice continued to make such a strong recovery, they asked her to join them.   

“They entered when I was first in hospital. But I started to recover quicker than everyone thought. So they said ‘just do it with us!’. Fortunately a place to join them running for Leukaemia UK became available.”   

But then events took a heartbreaking turn for the worse. Alice’s blood tests revealed she was no longer in remission, and she would need a stem cell transplant. Because both Emma and Kate are HLA (perfect) matches, who donates to Alice will come down to a number of other factors with the final donor being announced in typical positive style at a special donor reveal cake party!  

“I was on my honeymoon in Colombia when I got the call that Alice had relapsed,” said Kate. “It was shocking as she had been so healthy and well. I immediately got on a flight home to be with her. It brought back all the fear and emotions from the previous year. Emma and I just knew we had to be strong for Alice and keep her spirits up.” 

“Kate and I are still going to run the Marathon, even though Alice can’t now do it,” said Emma. “Running became a big source of strength for all of us during Alice’s cancer journey. There was a little park outside the hospital in Australia and Kate and I would run laps around that for our own mental health. I couldn’t be prouder of Alice for the strength she has shown over the past year. Kate and I are so proud to be running for Leukaemia UK and raise awareness for such an incredible charity.”   

Alice is now awaiting a date for her transplant. She had been back at work doing two locum shifts a week at hospitals in Surrey and London. Hayden has started his GP training and he and Alice are planning to buy a house together. After Alice’s relapse, Hayden and Alice had to cancel their June wedding. They decided to use the two weeks before she was admitted to hospital following her relapse to get married. After many calls to the registrars, a waiver application and last-minute cake baking by mum, Alice and Hayden got married at Old Marylebone Town Hall. Over 70 people turned up to throw confetti including Alice’s doctors, clinical fellow Dr Joel McCay and Professor Gribben. It was a day of emotion and celebration and Alice’s hospital room is now decorated with wedding photos and cards.  

“I am incredibly grateful for all the care I received and thanks to ongoing research, new treatments for leukaemia are being discovered all the time which improves prognosis and outcomes,” said Alice. “I was given a new drug, Gentuzmab Ozogamicin, which is proven to reduce risk of relapse. One of my sisters works for a biotech company which samples genetic information from the natural environment in the hope to find future drug discoveries and she mentioned that one of my chemotherapy drugs, Cytarabine, was derived from a sea sponge.

“Without the incredible research going on, my prognosis would be much worse. We are in a golden age of cancer treatment and research, and I want to do all I can to help others benefit from it. ”

“It was a shock finding out that I had relapsed so soon. But I am feeling optimistic that the stem cell transplant will be the end of my journey with leukaemia. I count myself to be incredibly lucky to have two sibling matches, as I know that is not the case for everyone. The wedding was amazing – we are so lucky to have such amazing family and friends to celebrate with us! I hope to be at the London Marathon supporting my sisters if I am well enough to be out of hospital with a big sign saying ‘Run my stem cells run’! I will be forever grateful for the continuing research into AML and will continue to raise awareness both for this disease and stem cell transplants.”