When Ian Lawless let out an enormous sneeze little did he know it was going to change his life. The 57-year-old sneezed so loudly he was left in pain from his ribs for several weeks.
Finally, after it failed to improve and he began to suffer back pain, he decided to seek medical attention. His GP found the rib was broken but also decided to do blood tests "as a precaution".
Fortunately, when these came back negative his GP decided to order a second set, Ian told the Liverpool Echo. It was these which led to the devastating diagnosis - he had myeloma, an incurable blood cancer, which is "hard to spot" and claims the lives of around 3,000 people in the UK every year.
