Woman, 23, who forgot she had cancer while in coma has to be told again

Kirah Line, 23, recalls what it was like to go through what she went through (Picture: PA Real Life)

A 23-year-old completely forgot she had cancer when she woke up from an induced coma.

Kirah Line, from Cambridge, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, a type of blood cancer, in July 2022.

‘I was just in shock, I couldn’t really believe it,’ Kirah said about the moment when she was diagnosed.

‘In that moment, I think I zoned out after I heard the word “cancer”. It was all a blur.’

She started four rounds of chemotherapy which ended in December 2022 and as part of this she lost her hair.

‘Initially, I thought, “I can do it, it’s fine”, and then when it happened, I was devastated,’ she said.

‘I couldn’t look in the mirror for a long time and I remember just crying my eyes out.’

By Christmas she was taken to hospital and was put in an induced coma because she developed sepsis.

‘I was terrified … and it felt like time was running out because I didn’t have a chance to speak to anyone before,’ she said.

Kirah added: ‘I remember being held down on the bed and they asked me, “Is there anything you’d like to say?”. And I just said, “Tell my mum that I love her”.’

Kirah’s mum Michelle, 43, a support worker, visited her every day – and although Kirah was ‘completely out of it’, she recalled hearing certain conversations at her bedside while unconscious.

When she woke up three weeks later she said she felt calm and ‘like in a dream’.

But Kirah thought she had nearly drowned due to ‘delusions’ as a result of being in a coma.

Kirah was diagnosed with cancer in July 2022, aged 21 (Picture: Family handout/PA Real Life)

Kirah’s health deteriorated while in hospital (Picture: Family handout/PA Real Life)

Kirah said: ‘I was so confused … and I was convinced that I had been hurt or I had drowned and that was the reason why I was in hospital.’

She had to be told of her cancer diagnosis a second time around.

After being told for a second time, Kirah felt ‘confused and upset’ at first, but then she felt a sense of relief as she had answers.

Kirah is now in remission and said of the experience: ‘It has definitely been harder than I thought it would be.

‘It was a stormy time – there were massive highs and there were massive lows – and I’ve learned a lot about myself.

‘I’ve seen kindness in the nurses and staff that I haven’t been exposed to before and I’d just encourage everyone to look out for symptoms, advocate for themselves, and make sure their voice is heard.’

She is now in recovery (Picture: Family handout/PA Real Life)

Kirah still has regular check-ups but has since returned to education, completing an access course, and she is due to start studying social work at Anglia Ruskin University in September as a way to ‘give back’.

Speaking about her advice to others, she said: ‘Advocate for yourself, hold onto hope, and utilise the support that you’re given.

‘When I came out of the coma, I genuinely thought that was it and it took constant reminders of, ‘You will get better’ – but I didn’t believe it at first.

‘I think it can feel embarrassing asking for help, financial support or emotional support, but it’s there for a reason and I wouldn’t be here today without it.’

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