From being told she had less than 25% chance of surviving five years, Emma Johnson is now cancer free and part of a trial aimed at extending her life and that of many others.

And that’s what comes of being a fighter and thinking positively.

Emma sees her life as a climb, and you just have to keep working hard till you get to the top.

The Stourbridge businesswoman and mum to a 14-year-old boy was hit right out of the blue last December when she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive blood cancer.

Her leukaemia was diagnosed on December 10. Within three days she had two lines into her chest delivering the toxic chemotherapy to tackle the cancer cells.

Her prognosis was not good. Even if you could fight it off, the cancer had a very high rate of recurrence. Her time was limited.

And then things got dramatically worse when she developed sepsis. It is a sign of how desperate things were that her husband and son were allowed to visit her at Russells Hall hospital, even though it was the height of lockdown.

But Emma pulled through and suddenly, with her fighting spirit, things started to look up.

After intensive chemo she underwent a stem cell transplant under Professor Charlie Craddock at the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham (her sister was a 100% match) and her doctors said the chances of a relapse were now vastly reduced, to just 30%.

Better news followed when a recent bone marrow biopsy gave her the all-clear.

Emma is in remission, and the chance of the cancer recurring remains, but her hopes continue to rise as she is now taking part in a trial of a new drug which could, at the very least, lengthen her life expectancy

The trial called 'AMADEUS’ run by the charity Anthony Nolan is led by Professor Craddock who is also the co-founder of the Birmingham-based blood cancer charity Cure.

The trial is testing if a particular drug reduces the chance of the leukaemia coming back after a stem cell transplant.

Now Emma is busy with friends setting up fundraising initiatives for Cure Leukaemia, a charity set up to help in the fight to find a cure for all blood cancers, including an online raffle and two male friends undergoing a wax – arms, legs, chest and backs!

She’s set herself the challenge of raising a whopping £30,000.

“It’s about being positive. This is a climb. It’s about continuing to climb until you reach the top.”

Her positivity shines through and now ‘I just want to get this out there, to help people. It’s about the support of family and friends, and keeping climbing.”

To support Emma’s fundraising campaign go to: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tom-wale1?utm_source=Sharethis&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=tom-wale1&utm_campaign=pfp-email&utm_term=6e8d8b1531c24fcfa675dd21a35f3ae5.

To donate directory to the Cure Leukaemia charity go to: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Birmingham-we-will-find-a-cure