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Grieving over her mother’s suicide, Sarezah Lake spiralled into comfort eating, reaching a life-threatening 32 stone. On a routine visit to the GP, her doctor told her she was a “ticking time-bomb.” At 5ft tall, she wore size 34 clothes, making her the same weight as the late wrestler Giant Haystacks was in his prime - and he was nearly 7ft tall. She tells The Mirror : “When my doctor told me I was a ticking time-bomb and that my heart wouldn’t be able to cope if I had a heart attack, it was really frightening to hear.” A mum-of-three, she knew that if she wanted to see her boys grow-up, she had to take control. She says: “I’d always been a big girl, but to hear that it might cause me to lose my life was frightening. I had three boys - Rahim, now 30, Khaliq, 28, and Azim, 27 - and I didn’t want to leave them without a mum. “I’d piled on the weight after losing my own mum, who tragically took her own life in 2003. It was so hard to deal with my grief and I comfort ate to try and help. By 2013, my weight had escalated to a massive 32 stone. I could barely walk, I was so huge. “The more I ate, the less I could move, so it was a vicious circle. I knew I needed to take action and I was determined to take myself in hand.” Spurred into action by her GP’s brutal honesty, Sarezah, who lives in Colchester with her husband, decided that diet and exercise were the only way that she would lose weight and keep it off. At her largest, Sarezah was eating eight slices of toast and six bags of crisps for breakfast, three jacket potatoes with baked beans and tuna for lunch and a massive plate of curry for dinner. But she cut back and now eats fruit, nuts and porridge first thing, with an omelette for lunch and rice, fish and salad for dinner. She says: “I did everything myself, instead of joining a slimming group or going for surgery. “I made a massive lifestyle change. I put myself on strict ratios on my plate - 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fat. Every day I went to the gym, too. At first I was so huge that I needed people to help me get on the exercise bike. The weight started falling off.” During the next seven years, Sarezah, who works in the building trade, managed to shed a staggering 19 stone. “It felt amazing when I looked in the mirror - I was literally half the woman I used to be,” she says. Because she had lost so much weight, she was referred by the NHS for skin removal surgery. Her skin was so loose that it had started to fold over and was causing rashes. In October 2020, she had a tummy tuck - getting some routine blood tests done as part of the procedure. But the tests revealed she had almost no white blood cells - which fight infection - in her body. When the results remained abnormal, they tested again during the ensuing weeks. And in February 2021 she was completely blindsided by the news she had advanced acute myeloid leukaemia. Sarezah says: “I was in total shock. I hadn’t had any bruising, or any of the other obvious symptoms. I was tired, but I was running around after three children, so I thought that was normal. It was so advanced that the doctors didn’t know how I wasn’t in hospital fighting off infections. “I had to start treatment straight away. After the weight loss and surgery I’d looked like J-Lo for a couple of weeks. But now I was facing the battle of my life. I felt angry, but in a way, I felt incredibly lucky. If it had gone on any longer then I may not have survived. “Losing 19st meant my cancer had been discovered and had saved my life.” The following month, Sarezah started immunotherapy. She says: “I had an allergic reaction to the treatment and was in Barts Hospital in London when my heart stopped. I could hear the defibrillator being used on me. “‘We’re losing her,’ I heard one doctor shout. And I saw a door to a bright white light. I asked the nurse to tell my boys that I loved them.” Fortunately, she pulled through and was switched to chemotherapy treatment - managing to keep training by walking 15,000 steps a day while she was in hospital. Unfortunately, the treatment meant she regained 2st, but she has been in remission since 2021. She says: “I know that I could relapse at some point in the future and I may need a stem cell transplant if that happens but, for now, I’m healthy and I’m doing well. “I’m also trying to raise more awareness around stem cell donation for ethnic minorities as there is a real shortage of donors in these communities. Only 16% of registered donors are from non-white European backgrounds, and it's heartbreaking that some people can’t find a match because of this. My own heritage could make it harder for me to find a match. “I want to help change that. I’ve had a book published in June this year, called ‘Fight to Live’ which is about my battle for survival.” Now 14st 9lb, Sarezah is looking forward to the future. She says: “I’m no longer a ticking time-bomb and I feel so much healthier. “I’m still here - cancer-free and a much healthier slimmer version of myself. And I can live to see my children grow up, which is the most important thing in the world to me.” *To join the stem cell donation register visit www.anthonynolan.org
