A FIT and healthy woman who thoughts she’d injured herself doing household chores had no idea it was a symptom of a deadly cancer.
As a personal trainer, Sharn Hegan is used to and taking care of herself.
But after lifting up a thin, concrete tile in her driveway she didn’t think was heavy, Sharn unexpectedly injured her back.
She tried to stretch it out, but one week of turned into six, and after 12 weeks, a boss at one of the gyms she worked out urged her to see a physio.
Sharn booked a consultation with a trusted physiotherapist who suggested she had a problem with a disc and prescribed a string of exercises to help stretch the tissue between her vertebrae.
Initially, the pain subsided, but then one morning she suffered a setback.
“I was up at 5:30am to train a client, but when I went to sit in my car, I couldn’t. I couldn’t sit. It was like someone was stabbing me in the back,”;; she recalls.
Dedication to her job saw the fitness expert force through her pain to reach her client. But then her condition worsened.
“Later that day, I felt this sharp pain and I sort of collapsed,”;; she says.
“I thought maybe it was because I have and I hadn’t eaten enough. But it wasn’t that. Then I went to see my physio and explained I couldn’t do any of the exercises anymore because I was in real pain.”;;
Sharn was referred for an MRI where she was in such agony she had to be helped on and off the bed.
At 10.30pm that night the specialist called and urged her to seek urgent treatment as the MRI had shown an abnormality in her bones.
“They told me I needed to go to the emergency room straightaway,”;; she says.
“When my doctor saw the results of the MRI he was shocked I could even walk. They did more tests and told me I had .”;;
Multiple myeloma is a type of that affects bone marrow, can cause bones to become brittle, and can also affect various parts of the body, such as the spine, skull, pelvis and ribs.
Symptoms can be silent – but persistent bone pain can be a key signal, while other symptoms include , weight loss, and bruising.
MRI scans can reveal the disease which shows up as small dots in the bones.
While Sharn lives in Melbourne, Australia, Cancer Research UK estimates that 6,200 people are diagnosed with myeloma in the UK alone each year.
The cancer is considered rare but statistics show that rates have increased by 10 per cent over the past decade and are predicted to continue increasing – with 8,3000 new cases per year forecast by the 2030s.
The disease is most common in older white men – with the majority of cases in the UK affecting patients aged over 75.
“My sister-in-law had and passed away. When I received my diagnosis I thought, ‘Oh my God,’ and I cried to myself,”;; Sharn says.
I used to joke that I never get sick, but when I do, I get hospitalised
Sharn Hegan
“Everyone was in shock because I am never sick, but this illness affected 75 per cent of my bone marrow. I used to joke that I never get sick, but when I do, I get hospitalised.”;;
As a woman with Sri Lankan heritage, Sharn is an even rarer case for the disease as she was just 52 at the time of her diagnosis and, as a personal trainer, lived a very healthy lifestyle.
She does, however, credit her fitness regime and love of for helping her fight back.
“I had to get injections into my stomach every week,”;; she says, recounting her treatment which did not involve any .
The mum-of-two also took pills including the multiple myeloma-specific drug Revlimid which affects the immune system in order to stop tumours growing and preventing new blood vessels forming to feed the growth.
She also underwent monthly blood tests to monitor her progress.
Cancer-free
“I was declared cancer free after 18 months,”;; Sharn says, adding she now takes cortisone to prevent the disease returning.
“It caused my bones to be brittle so I take calcium everyday and everyday as I might not absorb as much vitamin D due to my dark skin,”;; she adds.
“I have always done strength training and my bones should be strong. Lucky l have good core strength to stop falls and maintain posture.
“I feel good, and my back is getting better – although I have shrunk as I did fall twice and my L5 (vertebrae) was crushed. I used to be 5’4, but now I am 5’2.
“But every day I’m getting better and better. I’m pain free and I think the bones can only get stronger from here.”;;
Sharn admits her health battle was frightening for her whole family but says, overall, the experience has brought her even closer to husband Michael, 61, and children Bec and Josh, now aged 23 and 17, respectively.
“It was hard on the kids,”;; she reflects.
“I was diagnosed in August 2022 and my daughter was turning 21 that September. I was determined to make it to her party. And my son saw a therapist at school to help him. Seeing me in so much pain was devastating for him.”;;
Opening up about an unexpected positive outcome from her health fight, Sharn reveals: “Normally I do it all, like the cooking, cleaning, and maybe my family didn’t realise how much I do, and everyone helps out now.
“I also don’t yell anymore. I let my kids do whatever, because I was a control freak before. I would make sure everything was clean before I go to work and then would come home and it’s like a bomb has hit, and I could never sit down to eat until everything was put away. But now we all help clean up now, so that’s something,”;; she adds with a laugh.
“And we actually see more friends now. Before, we would always be busy doing things. So it brings you back. It brings everyone close.”;;
Sharn, who is now 55, urges anyone – regardless of age, gender or race – to get checked if anything feels out of sorts in the body.
“Myeloma is common for elderly men and women. And it may be very rare for people in their 50s or 60s, but younger people are getting this cancer,”;; she warns.
“If you’ve been feeling pain for over 12 weeks, then you really need to get an MRI. It can be easy for a physio to suggest exercises, or say, ‘Try using walker.’ If you are older, you could simply think, ‘This is my life. I’m old. I’ll use the walker.’
“But you never know – there might be something else going on. So definitely get checked.”;;
For fitness advice, connect with Sharn via her Body into Shape Personal Training business via https://www.instagram.com/fitness_with_sharn.
