‘My cancer was dismissed as a pulled muscle’

Emma Stanley

BBC News, Lancashire

A former footballer has told how he was in “complete shock” after being diagnosed with blood cancer – after first believing the pain was from a pulled muscle.

Mel Tottoh was diagnosed with myeloma after months of rib and back pain.

The father-of-three, from Freckleton in Lancashire, when to the GP after feeling a “searing pain” that made him feel like he had broken a rib when taking a swing on the golf course in 2021.

“When I was diagnosed, I had holey bones in my ribs, thighs, spine and skull,” said the 68-year-old, who played for Preston North End in the 1980s.

He said he had twinges in his ribs and back for a year and a half before his diagnosis, but initially put them down to playing a lot of golf.

When the pain got worse in the middle of 2020, he consulted his GP who told him he had likely pulled a muscle and that the twinges would sort themselves out.

“It progressed over months to being quite debilitating,” he recalled.

“It got to a point where it started having a real impact on my life.”

After blood tests he was diagnosed with myeloma in August 2021.

“Being struck down with this was a complete shock,” he said.

“My dad had died of cancer and then, in the last 12 years, two of my brothers died of cancer. I thought it was the end.”

But the team at Blackpool Victoria Hospital “were amazing”, he said.

Mr Tottoh had radiotherapy to treat the damage to his bones.

He then had chemotherapy, followed by a stem cell transplant and has been in remission since November 2022.

Throughout, the support of family and friends has been invaluable, he said.

“It takes a small army to get you through this ordeal,” said Mr Tottoh, who is still on maintenance treatment to keep his cancer at bay for as long as possible.

“The most important thing now is having people in your corner, people who care, people who lift you up when you’re down.

“My family and closest friends have done that.”

Nearly five years on from his diagnosis, Mr Tottoh is now determined to make memories with his family and his grandson Theo, nine.

“My mindset is really positive,” he said.

“I will see my grandson go to university and get married – if that’s what he wants to do. I will see my kids fulfil their dreams.

“Right now, I’m in an amazing place and I’m on the path to living with myeloma for a very long time.”

He said if anyone feels unsure about any symptoms they may have, they should visit the doctor.

“Nobody knows your body better than you, so own it,” he said.

• Myeloma is an incurable blood cancer that occurs in the bone marrow
• Despite being the third most common type of blood cancer, myeloma is difficult to detect as symptoms are often linked to general ageing or minor conditions
• While it is incurable, myeloma is treatable in the majority of cases
• Treatment can lead to periods of remission but the cancer will inevitably come back

Source Myeloma UK