Lauren Murrell was diagnosed with leukaemia aged 23. She tells us how her experiences inspired her into business with her sister to help others get back to themselves through wellness products.
Back in February 2012, a week of unexplained symptoms including fever, night sweats, lethargy and pains in my neck left me bedridden. After going to A&E, I was told it could be glandular fever or scarlet fever but the doctors weren't sure. However, my blood results the next day would give us the answer. The phone call came and I went back to the hospital - it was cancer, acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), and there was no time to delay. I was hospitalised immediately and treatment started the next day.
The shock was huge - I was an otherwise healthy 23-year-old and just a few weeks away from my final law school exams. My world was turned upside down and I was heartbroken that the career I’d worked so hard for looked like it was to be taken away from me in an instant. Over the months that followed, I had multiple rounds of chemotherapy, total body irradiation and a life-saving stem cell transplant from my sister, Sarah.
This period of my life was so, so tough, both physically and mentally. My body withered, my emotional wellbeing was tested to its limits and my positive mindset stretched well beyond my comfort zone. I spent weeks at a time in my hospital room, in protective isolation, battling for my life. In my darkest hours, I found the inner strength to keep going. I journalled to process my thoughts, stuck posters on my wall of New York and the Caribbean to remind myself of the world beyond the bare white walls, and reinforced positive affirmations. I’d stand in front of the mirror as my hair was falling out, saying out loud: “Stay strong, stay really strong.”
A positive and determined attitude
I quickly learned that everything is permanently temporary. The identity that I had for so long associated with what I did, where I went and how I looked, was lost. I came to see my mind as my best friend and developed a positive attitude at every opportunity. One way I did this was by focusing on fundraising from my hospital room and, with the incredible generosity of so many people, raised over £60,000 for the haematology unit at University College London Hospital (UCLH).
"My emotional wellbeing was tested to its limits and my positive mindset stretched well beyond my comfort zone."
Two years later, I dusted off the books on my desk and returned to law school, before finally being able to begin my career as a lawyer in London. Determined to pick up where I’d left off, I balanced out-patient hospital appointments with my job. Spending so much time in protective isolation in hospital had made me even more determined to live the life I'd dreamed of. And a year or so later, I moved to the firm’s New York office and fulfilled my dream of living in the most vibrant city on earth. It was a real career highlight.
ost vibrant city on earth. It was a real career highlight. Upon returning to London, my appetite for adventure was still strong. So, it wasn’t long before I’d packed up my life into three suitcases and moved to the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, the most beautiful place I’d ever seen - with the same aquamarine water and lush green palm trees from the poster I had on my hospital wall. Sadly, life as a lawyer in paradise ended abruptly for me in September 2017 by the onslaught of Hurricane Irma, a terrifying category-5 hurricane that tore through the house I was sheltering in and left me stranded for days without any contact to the outside world. After eventually being rescued and evacuated, it was the perfect storm which brought me back to the UK.
A new direction
It was then that my sister and I took a leap of faith, leaving our corporate jobs behind to launch 'By Sarah London', the digital-first skincare brand for stressed, sensitive skin. Sarah had developed skincare initially for me when I was in hospital as my skin became so fragile and sensitive, shedding like a snake and reacting to many 'natural' product ranges. Free from common irritants like essential oils and fragrance, our collection is specially formulated for even the most sensitive skin.
It's these formulations which have since become our multi award-winning collection, featured on This Morning and in Vogue, The Times and The Telegraph, with celebrity fans including Trinny Woodall and Deliciously Ella. If I had to choose a personal favourite product, it would be the Hero Facial Oil. This was the first formulation that Sarah developed for my skin and I’ve loved it since the very beginning! I never thought I’d become an entrepreneur, but this journey has presented me with so many amazing experiences that I otherwise wouldn’t have had. As a business, we understand the physical and emotional impact of sensitive, stressed skin and are empowering our community by helping people get back to themselves. It’s a highlight of my day to read the many transformative stories we receive from our customers who have found hope and results with our skincare. I’m also really proud that we are a certified B Corp and meet the highest standards of social and environmental impact. As a purpose-led brand, we've committed to people and planet from the very beginning and I’m hugely excited by the difference we can continue to make.
"I never thought I’d become an entrepreneur, but this journey has presented me with so many amazing experiences."
Ten years on from diagnosis
On a personal level, this February marked 10 years since my leukaemia diagnosis and, in the same week, I became Vice Chair of The Little Princess Trust - the charity I first donated my hair to before it all fell out during my cancer treatment. It’s such an honour to be part of this special charity, whose commitment to supporting children and young people who have lost their hair to cancer, as well as funding pioneering, life-saving research into childhood cancers, is deeply inspiring.
My cancer and what has followed has been a chapter of my life that I never saw coming and yet, my personal mantra continues to ring true: 'Live life as if everything is rigged in your favour.'
