Norlane woman Annie Dunn details leukaemia battle ahead of World’s Greatest Shave

A Norlane kindergarten teacher was “exhausted all the time” before she was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer aged just 21.

Kindergarten teacher Annie Dunn is now in remission after a seven year battle with chronic myeloid leukaemia. Picture: Brad Fleet

A Norlane kindergarten teacher was “exhausted all the time” before she was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer.

Annie Dunn was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) in September 2017 when she was 21.

“The year leading up to my diagnosis, I was really sick and exhausted all the time,” she said.

“It would take me so long to get over colds.”

The now 29-year-old was going to her GP “a lot” and did numerous blood tests before she was diagnosed.

“(My doctor) kept saying my bloods were a little bit out of whack but it wasn’t anything unusual,” she said.

“They were elevated a little bit, like they would be if I had an infection.”

After six months of GP visits, Ms Dunn’s blood results were still elevated so she was referred to a blood disease specialist.

“I did some more blood tests for the haematologist but he wasn’t overly concerned,” she said.

Ms Dunn was on placement for her Diploma of Early Education when her haematologist called, saying she needed to come in urgently.

“They called on Friday and my appointment was on Monday,” she said.

“It was the longest weekend of my life.

At the appointment, Ms Dunn’s haematologist confirmed she had CML.

“I just sat and cried but I was crying for two reasons,” she said.

“One, because I just found out I had cancer and two, because I had been sick for a year and I finally got an answer.

“It wasn’t a great answer but I was relieved.”

CML is a rare type of cancer, and typically men aged over the age of 50 are diagnosed with the condition.

“It is a rare cancer to begin with but it was even rarer because I was a young, 21-year-old woman,” Ms Dunn said.

Kindergarten teacher Annie Dunn is now in remission after a seven year battle with chronic myeloid leukaemia. Picture: Brad Fleet

CML is treated with oral tablets, which Ms Dunn said made her feel fatigued and nauseous.

“It made me feel quite violently ill,” she said.

“I was still finishing my diploma of early education and it was really hard.”

After about seven years of treatment, Ms Dunn came off the tablets in August 2023.

Last week, she was declared six months cancer free.

“I feel full of energy and back to myself which is really great,” she said.

Ms Dunn is encouraging others to participate in the World’s Greatest Shave, which is being held in March and raises money for the Leukaemia Foundation.

She shaved her head in 2018, shortly after she was diagnosed with CML.

Ms Dunn said shaving her head was a “good conversation starter” and encouraged people to talk about blood cancer.

For more information visit worldsgreatestshave.com

Originally published as Norlane woman Annie Dunn details leukaemia battle ahead of World’s Greatest Shave