Mom’s metallic taste in mouth was sign of terminal cancer

By Charlie Fenton

A super-fit mom who noticed a strange metallic taste in her mouth was devastated when doctors revealed it was incurable cancer.

June Kelly, 48, said she was the “fittest” she had ever been when the bizarre symptom struck.

The mom-of-two was rushed to the hospital after tests confirmed it was rare blood cancer myeloma.

Kelly, from Micklefield, Leeds, West Yorkshire, said: “When I was told it was myeloma it completely blew my world apart.

“I was the fittest I’d ever been in my life and I’d gone from feeling a bit tired and having a strange taste in my mouth, to being told my kidneys were failing and then that I had incurable blood cancer.

“Being diagnosed with myeloma has taken away so much but it has also made me a stronger person, who no longer worries about the little things and appreciates every day."

Sporty Kelly, who had competed in triathlons and half marathons and ran a cleaning business, first noticed something was wrong in March 2021.

She said: “I was getting short of breath when running up hills, finding it hard to get warm and I had this strange metallic taste in my mouth that wouldn’t go away even when I used mouthwash so I went to see my GP.

“I thought it was my asthma or maybe an underactive thyroid, but the doctor did blood tests.

"The next day he told me to get to the hospital urgently — my kidneys were failing. It was a huge shock.”

Doctors at York Hospital discovered her kidneys were working at just 5% and she needed urgent dialysis and a transplant.

A week later on March 30 she was dealt a further blow when tests revealed she had myeloma, a cancer affecting the blood and bone marrow.

The condition, which impacts more than 35,000 people in the U.K., cannot usually be cured but it can be treated.

Doctors told Kelly her failing kidneys were behind the bizarre metallic taste.

Other symptoms can include persistent pain, fatigue, fragile bones and kidney problems.

Kelly said telling her family including her son Max, now 25, and daughter Mia, now 20, with the support of her husband Adrian, 57, was one of the hardest things about her cancer diagnosis.

She said: “I don’t think I told people the name of the cancer.

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“I had never heard of myeloma.

"We just said it’s a form of cancer and it’s treatable but it will never go away and there were a lot of tears.

"There were questions too but I deliberately tried to restrict the information I read.

"I dealt with it on a need-to-know basis but Adrian read everything.

“I told the doctors: Tell me what to do and I will do it.

"In my head, I knew that whatever happened I needed to be well enough to meet my sister’s baby as she was pregnant and due that year.”

Kelly began chemotherapy the day after her diagnosis, with weekly injections for four months.

She said: “I was lucky that I didn’t really have many chemotherapy side effects apart from slightly blurry vision, and the treatment and dialysis made me feel so much better.

“It made me realize just how unwell I’d been.”

Last September, she underwent a stem cell transplant at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

After four weeks battling an infection in the hospital, she returned home and now continues maintenance chemotherapy in tablet form.

Due to her cancer, Kelly cannot have a kidney transplant and undergoes dialysis three times a week.

But despite it all, she is determined to live life to the fullest and has bought a camper van with Adrian to explore the U.K.

They even made it to the Scottish Highlands and Loch Ness, stopping for dialysis in Inverness along the way.

Kelly said: “I enjoy the good days and just get through the bad.”

She added: "The first year my goal was to see my niece born, this year I wanted to see my son graduate and niece start school and next year I want to see my daughter graduate.”

Kelly is sharing her story during Myeloma Awareness Week, backing Myeloma UK’s campaign to help others spot warning signs early.

Sophie Castell, chief executive at Myeloma UK, said: “The most important thing you can do is get your symptoms checked.

"We know that myeloma can be difficult to diagnose, so bring the Myeloma UK Symptom Translator with you to the GP, ask for answers and get to the bottom of what’s causing your pain, infections or fatigue.

"Know the warning signs, put your health first and help us catch myeloma earlier.”