In Memory of Colin D E Poundall

Less than a year and a half ago, my dear husband, Colin, was diagnosed with a very rare form of Leukaemia, BPDCN (Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm). He was given a prognosis of 6-12 months.

His consultant at The Royal Derby Hospital, began to research Colin’s condition and discovered a trial immunotherapy drug that could potentially extend my husband’s life.

Having gained approval by the NHS, Colin’s treatment commenced at the end of March 2022. He tolerated one and a half cycles of this immunotherapy before a bad reaction meant the treatment had to cease.

It was during this treatment that Colin's white blood cells increased to very high levels and after further research, a second rare form of Leukaemia was found, CMML (Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia). It is thought that Colin may have had CMML for several years, so whilst managing and treatment of BPDCN, the hospital had to take account of impact on CMML.

After the first cycle of the trial treatment, the results were positive. The skin lesions which were a symptom on BPDCN, began to disappear, and my husband regained his strength. We embraced this reprieve and made the most of the time we had together.

It was short lived, however. Christmas 2022 brought a small blemish and in January this year we received confirmation that the leukaemia had returned.

A standard chemotherapy CHOP was planned, and Colin managed to undertake two cycles, but the bone marrow could not recover from the second cycle.

We lost Colin on 14th June aged 77. He was a beloved husband, father and grandfather and had so much to live for.

We would like to raise money to further research into CMML and BPDCN - the rare and aggressive haematologic malignancy of the bone marrow and blood that can affect other organs such as the lymph nodes, spleen, central nervous system, and skin.