Man misdiagnosed with muscle pain discovered to have rare blood cancer

Oliver Famili, a man who was initially told by doctors to drink protein shakes to manage back pain, has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an exceptionally rare blood cancer in individuals under 35. At the time of his initial symptoms, Famili was 28 and discovered he had been living with 11 spinal fractures caused by the disease.

According to Myeloma UK, the condition is difficult to detect and typically affects those over 65; the odds of a diagnosis for someone of Famili's age were estimated at one in five million. After his condition worsened, a PET-CT scan at Watford General Hospital revealed the extent of the bone damage.

Famili underwent stem cell transplants and chemotherapy, but after a relapse, he became one of the first patients to receive pioneering CAR T-cell therapy in London. This immunotherapy, which uses genetically modified white blood cells to target cancer, successfully provided a three-year period of remission.