Kayla Esson raised the horn and about 1,100 runners surged forward. Twelve months earlier, she had been sitting in a consultant’s office, being told she was in remission.
Kayla, 22, a trainee ambulance technician from Buckie in Moray, was the guest of honour at the weekend’s Aberdeen Race for Life, organised by Cancer Research UK. Runners and walkers took 3k, 5k and 10k routes from Seaton Football pitches, past the seafront. Some wore fancy dress. The Rock Choir performed along the route. More than £100,000 was raised for research into preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer.
The tumour behind her heart
Her illness began with a swollen face and shortness of breath. A scan showed a 12cm tumour pressing against the vena cava, the main vessel returning blood to the heart. That explained both symptoms. She was rushed to hospital by blue light.
The diagnosis: primary mediastinal B cell lymphoma. It is a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and grows in the chest, behind the breastbone, between the lungs. Doctors started chemotherapy on March 12, 2025, with six sessions in all. Then, on June 22, came the news: Dr Gavin Preston, her consultant, told her in Aberdeen that the cancer had gone.
Kayla did not keep the news to herself. She had followed her illness on Instagram and TikTok, but this announcement she made in person, calling on her gran and her best friends one by one.
“What a difference a year makes”
Her working days are spent helping patients from an ambulance, so being the patient was a jolt. “My first thought was, am I going to die?” she said.
Standing at the start line, she said, she felt “incredibly proud.” She added: “I wish I could have seen then where I am today. What a difference a year makes. I’m doing well now and I’m determined to pay it forward to help others.”
Her mother, Nicolle Beattie, 40, completed both the 10k and the 5k for her daughter. Others at the event had their own reasons. Simone Bjorkblund led a big team of relatives and friends in memory of her daughter Lauren Brown, a mother of two who died of breast cancer in January 2024 at 34.
Kayla’s own fundraising began even before the race. A local report from September 2025 said she had already raised £17,100, shared between two charities, Blood Cancer UK and the Teenage Cancer Trust.
The encouraging part is where she stands now: in remission, doing well, and raising money for the next patient. Anyone who notices swelling or breathlessness that will not go away should talk to their doctor.
Sources
- Inspirational woman who fought rare blood cancer launches Aberdeen Race for Life – Yahoo News UK
- Inspirational woman who fought rare blood cancer launches Aberdeen Race for Life | Aberdeen Live
- Buckie woman raises thousands for charity after winning battle with cancer
