Macclesfield mum returns to The Christie to celebrate pioneering blood cancer care

A Macclesfield mum whose acute leukaemia was brought into remission by an experimental treatment returned to The Christie to help celebrate 40 years of pioneering blood cancer care.

Michelle Gidion (57) was a special guest at an event marking four decades since the opening of The Christie’s Adult Leukaemia Unit, which helped lay the foundations for the specialist haematology and transplant service delivered today.

Michelle was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, or AML, in 2023 after experiencing unusual bruising and tiredness. A blood test revealed that her platelet levels were dangerously low, and a subsequent bone marrow biopsy at The Christie confirmed that she had the aggressive blood cancer.

She initially responded well to chemotherapy and went into remission, but the cancer returned after five months. Michelle underwent a stem cell transplant in March 2024 after a matching donor was identified through the international register, but tests later showed that the treatment had not worked.

With her options becoming increasingly limited, Michelle was offered the opportunity to join the international CAMELOT-1 clinical trial at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Facility (CRF): Manchester at The Christie.

The early-phase study was investigating bleximenib, a targeted drug known as a menin inhibitor. Menin is a protein that helps leukaemia cells survive and grow in certain types of the disease. Blocking the protein can make the cancer cells weaker and allow the body to begin producing healthy blood cells again.

Michelle began taking two bleximenib tablets each morning and another two each evening, alongside regular monitoring at The Christie. She also received donor lymphocyte infusions from the same donor who provided the stem cells for her transplant, helping to strengthen her new immune system.

In spring 2025, Michelle was told she had achieved complete molecular remission, meaning there were no detectable signs of cancer in her blood or bone marrow.

Michelle, who lives with her husband Simon and has four sons, said she was pleased to have been invited to represent a more recent generation of haematology patients at the anniversary event.

Michelle said:

“I was delighted to be invited to the anniversary. It was very special to meet some of the patients and staff who were involved during the early years and to hear how much treatment has changed.

“The clinical trial gave my family and me hope, when we felt we were running out of options. Being there was an opportunity to thank the people who have helped me, while also recognising the pioneering work that made today’s treatments and research possible.”

The original Adult Leukaemia Unit opened in 1986 after clinicians at The Christie began treating increasing numbers of people with acute leukaemia and carrying out some of the North West’s earliest adult bone marrow transplants.

The unit developed a reputation for bringing clinical care and laboratory research together and carrying out pioneering clinical trials with researchers in the Paterson Laboratories.

The original unit eventually became too small for the growing and increasingly specialised service. It was replaced in 2014 by larger, purpose-built facilities in The Christie’s Palatine Treatment Centre, with The Christie Charity contributing £10 million towards the £12 million cost. Modern haematology and transplant care continues there today.

At the anniversary, Michelle joined Derrick Derbyshire, one of The Christie’s earliest bone marrow transplant patients, and Professor Howard “Howie” Scarffe, the founding head of the Adult Leukaemia Unit. Derrick was treated as a teenager in the early 1980s, before the specialist unit existed.

Michelle’s attendance provided a link between that pioneering history and the modern clinical trials giving new options to patients today.

Speaking about the importance of research following her own treatment, Michelle said:

“Research is so important. When offered the trial there was no way I wasn’t going to say yes to it. I just want to be alive, so I grabbed it with both hands.

“It gave me hope. The whole experience has been life-changing for my family.”

For Michelle, the anniversary event was an opportunity to celebrate the generations of patients who have contributed to research.

“Every treatment has to start somewhere, and patients who take part in research help doctors learn what could work for people in the future. I’m proud to have played a small part in that and was very pleased to join everyone celebrating 40 years of progress at The Christie.”

Pictured - Michelle Gidion.