When Melbourne woman Harriet Green began feeling unwell in her mid-20s, she brushed it off as stress.

At just 26, working full-time as a demand and supply planner, she never imagined her vague symptoms could be the sign of something far more sinister.

‘I thought maybe I was developing a food intolerance or just run down from work,’ Harriet, now 34, told the Daily Mail.

‘After lunch at work I’d feel so nauseous I was just staring at my computer, trying not to throw up. My manager would be barking requests and I physically couldn’t respond.’

The nausea wasn’t the only symptom.

Harriet’s energy plummeted, she developed unexplained bruises, and exercise left her feeling ‘really, really awful’.

One day, after scratching an itchy leg in the car on the way home, she looked down to see a huge bruise.

‘That’s when I thought, “this isn’t normal”,’ she said.

‘I booked a doctor’s appointment the next day.’

Initial blood tests showed Harriet was anaemic – but her iron levels were perfectly normal.

Her GP quickly referred her to a haematologist, and a bone marrow biopsy revealed something highly unusual for a young, otherwise healthy woman: myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).

‘She called me at work and said, “I need you to come in tomorrow and bring someone with you”. That’s when I really panicked,’ Harriet recalled.

‘She said, “don’t worry, it’s not cancer, but it needs to be managed”. I honestly freaked out.’

MDS is a rare blood disorder more commonly seen in men over 60.

It occurs when bone marrow doesn’t produce enough healthy blood cells, leading to anaemia, infections, or easy bleeding and bruising.

In some cases, MDS remains stable for years, but it can also progress into acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) – an aggressive cancer of the blood and bone marrow.

Within two weeks of her first biopsy, Harriet’s condition had worsened.

A second biopsy revealed she had already transitioned from pre-leukaemia MDS to full-blown AML.

‘My oncologist basically said the next 12 months of my life would be full-on with treatment,’ she said.

Harriet began intensive chemotherapy at Melbourne’s Royal Melbourne and Peter MacCallum hospitals.

On Ward 7B – a sealed, filtered environment – flowers, outside food and even certain clothing were banned to protect patients whose immune systems had been wiped out.

‘I was in hospital for four weeks the first time, then home for two weeks, then back in for six weeks because my blood levels wouldn’t recover,’ Harriet said.

‘Ward 7B isn’t a prison, but if your blood levels aren’t good enough, you can’t leave. You’re locked in. Eventually, they sent me home because my mental health was suffering so much.’

Doctors then prepared her for a bone marrow transplant.

No suitable donor was available in Australia’s small opt-in registry, but a perfect match was found in Germany: a man in his 50s.

‘I’m so thankful for him – he saved my life,’ Harriet said.

‘We’ve been in contact, and he’s very lovely.’

Harriet has now been in remission for seven years, but the psychological toll remains.

‘I always live with some level of anxiety that it will come back,’ she admitted.

‘I don’t know if that will ever fully leave me. If I get a strange bruise, my GP will run tests to reassure me. That peace of mind helps, but I’m always on alert.’

The long road of recovery included two rounds of consolidation chemotherapy, a month in hospital for her transplant, and years of follow-up appointments.

Like other transplant recipients, she had to receive all her childhood vaccinations again, as her immune system had been completely reset.

‘I developed such an aversion to hospital food I still can’t stand the smell of it,’ she laughed.

‘My brother used to bring me a chocolate milkshake every day. At one point, it was almost the only thing I could eat.’

Her family’s support – daily visits from her parents and friends respecting her need for privacy – helped her survive the hardest days.

Harriet’s story highlights not just the physical burden of cancer, but the lasting emotional impact.

Health anxiety is common among survivors, especially when their diagnosis came suddenly and at a young age.

What is MDS?

• Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a group of disorders caused by abnormal development of blood cells in the bone marrow.
• It is more common in people over 60, particularly men.
• Risk factors include previous chemotherapy or radiation therapy, exposure to chemicals such as benzene, and genetic predisposition.
• Symptoms can include fatigue, persistent infections, unexplained bruising or bleeding, and shortness of breath.
• While some forms remain stable, MDS can progress into acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), a fast-moving blood cancer.

Every year, thousands of Australians with blood cancer wait for a life-saving stem cell transplant – but 90 per cent of them must rely on overseas donors because too few locals are registered.

For patients, waiting months – or never finding a match – can mean the difference between life and death.

Harriet was fortunate: her donor was found in Germany. But many Australians aren’t so lucky.

Signing up is simple. A cheek swab is all it takes to join the registry, and the donation process is no more complex than giving plasma.

You can help save the life of an Australian facing blood cancer by signing up to become a stem cell donor. Visit leukaemia.org.au for more information.