Dad forced to shut down business after devastating diagnosis

PAUL KYTE SAID HE NOTICED HE WAS BECOMING TIRED MORE EASILY AND BREATHLESS 05:00, 21 May 2025 A dad was forced to shut down his business after being diagnosed with a debilitating disease.

Paul Kyte first spotted a problem in 2021 when he was particularly busy with work. He said: “I just thought I’d overdone things. I noticed I was becoming tired more easily, breathless, and

just felt generally unwell.” A GP sent him for extensive tests which found abnormalities in his bone marrow preventing the production of healthy blood cells. The 55-year-old was diagnosed

with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS), a blood cancer where bone marrow fails to produce enough healthy blood cells. The condition can develop into full-blown acute myeloid leukaemia over

time. Paul, dad to 23-year-old daughter Mollyann, had to shut down his business due to his debilitating symptoms and he was given blood transfusions for eight months. He also had high dose

chemotherapy to destroy the cancer. Following chemotherapy, Paul, from Frodsham, needed stem cell transplant from a healthy donor to ensure a long-term cure, which took place at

Clatterbridge in October 2022. The transplant went well and after recovering from some complications and following eight weeks in isolation, Paul went home. He is now in remission and free

of cancer. However, some months later Paul’s health started to decline after a series of viral infections, and began to suffer from a stiff neck, balance problems, breathlessness, itchiness

and fatigue. His consultant at Clatterbridge, Dr Muhammad Saif, diagnosed Paul with Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) – where white blood cells from bone marrow or stem cell transplants

attack the patient’s own body. Dr Saif said Paul’s case was particularly severe. Paul said: “The build-up of being unwell with GVHD was over nine months and was getting worse. It was

interfering with my immune system.” GVHD can be very serious, even life-threatening, and Paul was offered steroids to treat it but also given the chance to join a clinical research trial.

The experimental new therapy is designed to tackle the debilitating disease that some cancer patients develop through life-saving treatment. Paul is the first person in the UK to be treated

with the potentially game-changing new therapy at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. He is hoping the INCA34176-254 clinical trial at Clatterbridge can combat the GVHD which has hampered his

return to health after the stem cell transplant he received to treat the rare type of leukaemia. He said: “Dr Saif explained there were no guarantees of success but he is hoping it will be

effective. I have 100% faith in him, so it did not take me long to decide to join the trial. I am being monitored very closely and the team is fantastic, answering any questions I have.

Everyone is so nice. “I’m taking part in this research not only for me, but the people around me, and others who come after me with this condition. Not a lot of people have heard of GVHD,

but it is a very real possibility after a stem cell transplant.” Dr Saif said: “Stem cell transplants are complicated procedures with significant risks but have been proven to be a highly

effective way to replace blood cells that have been damaged or destroyed because of intensive cancer treatment. “However, GVHD can be a result for some patients whose stem cell grafts start

to attack the patient’s body. This can manifest itself in symptoms which vary in severity, and for a small number of patients they can be debilitating and even life-threatening. “We hope

that this trial can lead to a treatment to lessen or eradicate GVHD and allow patients in remission after their cancer treatment a chance to live a much healthier life.” Paul said: “I’m

hoping that this clinical trial will give me an opportunity to get back to full health and eventually start up my business again and build it up as I recover fully. I am really looking

forward to that and spending more time with Mollyann. “For three years, I lived in the shadow of what was and what could be. Life, business, everything was put on hold. Recovery wasn’t just

about healing – it was about finding the courage to rebuild, step by step, without knowing exactly what the future would look like. “Relaunching my business isn’t about me running a

marathon. It’s about simply making it to the start line. I have been a professional photographer for over 35 years and absolutely loved it. "Cancer may have put my business on hold but

I am determined that cancer will not be the reason that I walk away from my career and my passion.” Mollyann is supporting her dad – and the cancer centre caring for him – by signing up to

an abseil down the side of the Liverpool hospital in September, in aid of Clatterbridge Cancer Charity. She said: “It has been a very emotional and scary few years for dad and our family,

but I’m so happy and proud to say my dad is now cancer free. I can’t thank the team at Clatterbridge enough for everything they are doing for him and for everything they do for people on a

day-to-day basis. “But also, I can’t express how proud I am of my dad. He has always been the strongest person I know but seeing his continuous smile throughout all of this made me feel like

the proudest daughter alive. So, I will be doing this for him and to say the biggest thank you possible to the team at Clatterbridge.” You can sponsor Mollyann on her fundraising page here

and see Paul’s photography on his website here. Article continues below