Woman diagnosed with rare form of leukemia after being prescribed antibiotics for tonsillitis

A woman who was prescribed antibiotics for tonsillitis after getting a sore throat ended up learning she had a rare form of leukemia.Rowan Bland, 28, began feeling run down and developed a sore throat in February 2025, which was diagnosed as tonsillitis.But antibiotics didn’t work, and she began to develop random bruises as well as bleeding gums and blood blisters in her mouth.She was given a blood test which was expected to reveal she had glandular fever – but she was sent straight to A&E.She was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), a rare form of acute myeloid leukemia.She started treatments straight away – finishing her final course of chemotherapy in November 2025, and her most recent biopsy showed no evidence of the disease.Rowan, who was 27 when she was first diagnosed, is now sharing her story to urge other young people not to dismiss persistent or unusual symptoms – after admitting she previously thought leukemia was “for babies” and that “cancer is always like a lump.”Rowan, a creative writing student from Edinburgh, but studying in Glasgow, said: “I didn’t know anything about leukemia.“I was pretty happy with the assumption of glandular fever because a lot of unspecified illness in people my age, I thought, kind of tracks.“I just think that there’s a bit of a misconception that leukemia is for babies.“And cancer is always like a lump.That was my mindset.“Just because you’re young, it doesn’t mean you can’t get a serious illness.

I was a bit naive in my health.I just took it for that.”After antibiotics didn’t improve what her GP believed to be tonsillitis, Rowan’s health continued to deteriorate.She began getting random bruises and red cluster rashes on her skin, alongside feeling extremely fatigued and dizzy when walking.She said: “I was feeling worse and worse.”Her sore throat became so severe that she struggled to eat, while she also developed bleeding gums, blood blisters in her mouth, he...