Down at the Doctors June 2025

Posted on January 29th, 2024

Many of you have been asking how Dr Sharif has been doing over the last few months. I recently spoke with her, and she’s kindly given me permission to share her story—not only to keep you updated, but also to raise awareness for the life-saving work of the Anthony Nolan Trust.

Back in July last year, Dr Sharif started feeling a little under the weather—just not herself. After some routine blood tests (because, being a doctor, she knew not to ignore a gut feeling), she was given a diagnosis that none of us expected: Acute Lymphocytic Leukaemia (ALL). ALL is a rare and aggressive cancer of the bone marrow and blood, usually seen in children and rarely in adults, which made the news all the more shocking—for her and for all of us.

She began treatment immediately at UCLH and has since undergone multiple rounds of chemotherapy. Many of you might remember spotting her in the surgery, calmly working away with a bright blue, 24 hour infusion bag in tow. In fact, she made a running joke of the one silver-lining—her chemo bag and tubes meant she always got a seat on the Tube during her twice-weekly trips into London. Every cloud…

Despite everything, Dr Sharif continued to support the GP team behind the scenes—handling phone consultations, reviewing blood results, and tackling a to-do list that would make most of us weep. Her dedication and resilience have been nothing short of inspirational.

Unfortunately, after her final round of chemo, she was told the treatment had not been successful. The next step: stem cell therapy. It was not presented as a choice, but thankfully, a near-perfect donor match was found abroad—an extraordinary gift, thanks to the Anthony Nolan Trust.

For those unfamiliar with the process, stem cell treatment involves high-dose chemo (and sometimes radiation) to wipe out remaining cancer cells and clear space in the bone marrow. The donor stem cells are then infused—just like a blood transfusion—and the hope is they’ll take hold and start producing healthy new blood cells. This process, known as “engraftment,” takes weeks to months, with the patient closely monitored in hospital for complications like infection or bleeding.

This is the road ahead for Dr Sharif, and we know you will all join us in sending her strength and good wishes. Her heartfelt gratitude goes to the many healthcare professionals involved in her care over the past year. She also hopes to raise awareness about the importance of early screening programmes for all types of cancer—something that can make a world of difference in catching disease early.

She is especially grateful to the Anthony Nolan Trust for finding her a donor. If you’re not familiar with their work, please take a moment to learn more: https://www.anthonynolan.org.

Dr Sharif will be taking time off to focus on her recovery, and we will all miss her dearly. From me personally—I just want to say what an incredible person she is. She’s had her tough days (who wouldn’t?), but she’s faced everything with humour, grit, and grace. She has remained an exceptional doctor throughout it all, even while carrying a burden most of us can barely imagine.

We will be cheering her on every step of the way—and we can’t wait to welcome her back.

BW

Andrew