Church of England officials have withdrawn a Gaza memorial exhibition after investigators found that its list of the dead included Hamas terrorists and members of other armed groups.

The Bishop of Leeds cancelled the display after Jewish community representatives presented evidence that a tribute tapestry featured the names of at least 25 people identified as members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad were involved in the October 7, 2023, assault on Israel, in which almost 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others were taken hostage.

Following the exhibition’s removal, Leeds Minster rector Canon Paul Maybury issued an apology. He said he condemned violence in all forms, especially Hamas’s killing of civilians and hostage-taking during the October 7 attack.

However, footage that surfaced on Saturday night appeared to show Canon Maybury telling Jewish demonstrators that “history is complex” when they asked him to condemn the abduction and murder of civilians.

In the 36-second video, he is questioned specifically about Ariel Bibas, who was four, his nine-month-old brother Kfir and their mother, Shiri, 32, before being challenged over their fate.

The family was taken from a kibbutz in southern Israel during the October 7 attack and later died while in Hamas captivity.

Images of Shiri Bibas clutching her two red-haired sons as masked gunmen dragged them away became among the most recognisable images of the assault.

When pressed for a clearer response, Canon Maybury replied “no comment” before leaving.

Jewish leaders and families of victims of the October 7 attack condemned the rector’s comments last night.

The controversy follows a separate dispute involving the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, who withdrew an award given to Muslim cleric Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi after reports revealed that he had praised Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden.

The exhibition, titled Stitch Their Names Together, contained at least 90 panels carrying 16,800 names. Organisers said the names were drawn from a death toll published by Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Researchers working with the Leeds Jewish Representative Council said they had identified at least 25 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members among those named on the tapestry.

One was Hatem Suleiman Abu Sharia, 28, a member of the Mujahideen Brigades, a smaller Gaza-based armed faction accused of abducting the Bibas family before transferring them to Hamas.

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Abu Sharia was killed in May 2024 and had reportedly served as a senior member of the group’s military council. He had been released from an Israeli prison only months before the October 7 attacks.

The names also reportedly included Salah Shaaban Ismail, 50, described as the commander of Islamic Jihad’s sniper unit. He was killed in May and later celebrated online by the group as a “martyr commander”.

Another listed individual was Hamdi Saeed Yousef Toulan, 39, identified as a Hamas field commander who was killed in December 2024.

Tributes calling him a ‘martyr’ and ‘a company commander in the Artillery Battalion of the Northern Brigade’ appeared on Hamas social media channels. 

A photograph also showed Toulan in Hamas combat dress. 

Other Hamas fighters named on the tapestry include Mohammed Sami Awad Ghurab, 20, and Salem Mohammed Salem Jouda, 43, who are described as ‘martyrs’ on social media, where photographs show them in military fatigues. 

The Bishop of Leeds, the Rt Reverend Dr Toby Howarth, closed down the exhibition when the LJRC submitted its dossier to Leeds Minster. 

On Saturday night, Itai Galmudy, from the anti-Semitism campaign group Stop The Hate, said: ‘Leeds Minster’s decision to host an exhibition honouring Hamas terrorists was an appalling betrayal of the Church’s own values. That a senior church leader then described Hamas’s murder of children as ‘complex’ is beyond belief. 

‘There is nothing complex about the slaughter of innocent children. The Church should be a voice of moral clarity, not an apologist for terrorism.’ 

Leo Brosh, Yorkshire Manager of the Jewish Leadership Council, said: ‘While it is welcome that Leeds Minster has closed the exhibition, serious questions remain about how they failed to do the most basic due diligence on such a sensitive issue. 

‘Without an appropriate response, this episode risks damaging the relationship between British Christians and British Jews at a time of growing antisemitism in the UK.’ 

Heidi Bachram, a British anti-Semitism campaigner whose husband lost family members during the October 7 attacks, said: ‘It was shocking to me that the church still put on this exhibition even when they were told there were terrorists on it.

‘Paul Maybury’s deeply insensitive response to the kidnapping of the Bibas children was inhuman. How can it be that terrorists get more empathy than the innocent children they murder?’

The Church of England did not comment on Canon Maybury’s ‘complex history’ remarks. 

For most of her life, Mila Habsy had remained slim without making much effort. So she was alarmed when her trousers started feeling tighter every morning.

The Manchester social media manager, then 19, had recently stopped taking the birth control pill after using it since she was 16. She hoped the break would give her body “a bit of a rest”.

Within weeks, however, Mila began experiencing persistent bloating and discomfort.

“Nothing else in my life had changed, so I was confused by what was happening,” says Mila. “I had no idea what to do.”

Determined to reverse the change, she began exercising intensely, running several miles every evening, while also restricting her diet. She skipped breakfast and limited herself to small, carefully measured portions at lunch and dinner. Yet the stubborn fat around her stomach, hips and thighs continued to build. In less than a year, Mila had gained just over three stone, a dramatic change from her previously slim figure.

“I felt incredibly confused and very, very insecure,” says Mila. “I had gone from being quite skinny to looking bloated. I couldn’t fit into my clothes and my face had become round and puffy, almost like a moon. I couldn’t even look in the mirror because I felt so bad about myself. It was awful, and nothing seemed to shift the extra weight.”

Now 23, Mila looks and feels like a different person. She has returned to her usual weight, is full of energy, has a notably toned stomach and works part-time as a model.

Her transformation did not come from an extreme diet-and-exercise plan or GLP-1 medication. In fact, Mila estimates that she now eats more than she did previously.

Instead, she was diagnosed with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, or PMOS, a condition that explained her sudden and persistent weight gain.

Previously known as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), the condition is commonly associated with ovarian cysts, missed or irregular periods and difficulty becoming pregnant.

However, an expanding body of research suggests that PMOS can also affect the body’s metabolic system, interfering with the way it converts food into energy.

Consequently, many women with the condition find weight loss especially difficult and are more likely to develop stubborn abdominal fat. On social media, this has become known as “PMOS belly”.

Experts stress, though, that this symptom is not unavoidable.

“PMOS affects one in eight women in the UK, yet almost half may have no obvious symptoms,” says Professor Dipa Kamdar, senior lecturer in pharmacy practice at Kingston University. “As our understanding grows, it is becoming clear that the condition can influence fat storage as well as the reproductive system.

“As a result, many women with PMOS also store more visceral fat — the deeper and more dangerous type that surrounds the internal organs — around their middle. They may have slim arms and legs and a normal BMI, yet still develop a rounded stomach that remains despite even the most restrictive dieting. It can be difficult to tackle, but it is not impossible.”

The first step is understanding what PMOS is.

Once thought to affect mainly the ovaries, PMOS is now understood to have wider effects throughout the body. That is why the condition has been given a new name, reflecting its potential impact on hormones, metabolism, mental health and the cardiovascular system.

In women with PMOS, the ovaries produce excessive amounts of male sex hormones called androgens. This hormonal imbalance may lead to irregular or absent periods, excess facial or chin hair, acne, fertility problems and ovarian cysts.

Elevated androgen levels can also affect metabolism by increasing inflammation and disrupting the way muscles and other tissues process glucose. Over time, this may contribute to insulin resistance, leaving many women with PMOS facing unexpected weight gain or finding it particularly hard to lose weight.

‘Because their fat cells respond differently to insulin, women with PMOS don’t burn energy as efficiently as those without the condition,’ says Dr Adam Balen, professor of reproductive medicine and surgery at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. ‘They also often have abnormalities in their gut hormones, causing a lack of healthy gut bacteria.

‘These differences combine to cause a build-up of excess fat.’

Fat tends to gather around the midsection, adds Professor Kamdar, because elevated levels of androgens direct it there.

‘The female hormone oestrogen causes women to usually develop a pear shape, with most fat accumulating around the hips and thighs,’ she says. ‘High levels of androgens, like testosterone, can override this pattern, instead redirecting fat storage to the midsection, which is where men tend to develop it.’

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Over time this can become a damaging feedback loop, research shows, in which more insulin leads to more androgens, while more androgens worsen insulin resistance.

And left untreated, visceral fat can raise the risk of several long-term conditions, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

The difficulty, says Professor Balen, is that without addressing the root causes of this fat build-up, it can be extremely difficult to get rid of it.

There is no single cure for PMOS belly, says Professor Kamdar, and many of the supplements said to help on social media have no scientific backing. While medications for the condition often focus on specific symptoms rather than a root cause.

‘Women may be put on birth control to help with irregular periods, while a drug called spironolactone can reduce hair growth on the face and body,’ says Professor Kamdar. ‘Metformin, a type 2 diabetes medicine, can also help reduce insulin resistance – which can help with weight gain and infertility. But these drugs can all cause side effects, and while they manage symptoms they are regarded by some as more of a temporary fix.’

Instead, a combination of dietary changes, regular exercise and better sleep habits are the best way to restore hormonal balance and reduce insulin resistance – paving the way for weight loss.

‘There is no such thing as a PMOS diet, but inherently, the Mediterranean diet will be beneficial for PMOS patients, as it is for everyone,’ says Professor Balen. ‘Avoiding processed foods, eating plenty of fruit and vegetables and cooking with anti-inflammatory agents like olive oil will promote a healthy metabolism.’

Eating at regular intervals is also crucial, says Professor Balen.

‘The first thing people need to do is stop snacking between meals. Eating regularly helps to stabilise blood sugar levels, which lowers insulin resistance,’ he adds.

Studies show exercise can also help the muscles absorb glucose more effectively – lowering insulin and reducing testosterone production. ‘I usually recommend women with PMOS do three hours of moderate activity and two hours of vigorous activity every week,’ says Professor Balen. ‘This can be a combination of cardio and weight-bearing exercise, but there is no one thing that is best.’

Finally, any stress on the body can worsen symptoms, says Professor Kamdar. ‘Improving sleep can have a huge impact on PMOS,’ she says. ‘Poor sleep worsens insulin resistance, increases the “hunger hormone” ghrelin and increases oxidative stress, making it harder to reduce fat stores.’

For Mila, it took trial and error to find a routine that worked. Today, she starts her day with breakfast containing 30g of protein and lots of fibre before going for a walk.

‘I try to hit 10,000 steps a day,’ she says. ‘I also do pilates or barre classes, and weight training between four and five times a week.’

She doesn’t drink caffeine on an empty stomach and has swapped dairy milk for almond or coconut milk. As for sweet treats, she sticks to a few squares of dark chocolate when she has a craving.

‘It worked for me,’ she adds. ‘I feel so much brighter and happier now.’

Doncaster-based GP Dr Dean Eggitt says: ‘If you’re experiencing stomach fat that won’t budge, don’t hesitate to bring it up with your doctor. There may be hidden causes that no amount of diet or exercise will solve.’

U.S. forces have helped escort more than one billion barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz in recent months, while Iran has shipped no oil through the waterway under what Washington calls an “ironclad blockade,” U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper said Saturday.

Cooper said the milestone was reached as American forces coordinated protection for more than 2,000 commercial vessels traveling through the strategically vital passage.

“Clearly, momentum is building,” Cooper said in a video message.

During the past two weeks, shipments of crude oil, commercial cargo and liquefied natural gas through the Strait of Hormuz have exceeded levels recorded at any other point in the six months since the war began on February 28, Cooper said. The waterway’s main shipping lanes also remain free of mines.

“More than one billion barrels of crude have moved from our Gulf partners through the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran has exported zero barrels because of our ironclad blockade,” Cooper said.

The latest figures follow what Cooper described as a “major milestone” on August 28, when CENTCOM announced that U.S. forces had removed Iranian sea mines from internationally recognized shipping lanes after months of hazardous clearance missions.

Cooper said personnel from across the U.S. military completed the operation “meticulously and quietly.” At the time, he said, international shipping routes had been reopened and that “momentum is building.”

While U.S. forces have increased the flow of protected commercial traffic through Hormuz, the blockade on Iran remains active. CENTCOM said Friday that American forces had diverted 105 commercial ships to enforce the restrictions, preserving what Cooper described as a total halt to Iranian oil exports through the strait.

According to CENTCOM, the two missions are being conducted at the same time: safeguarding international freedom of navigation through Hormuz while stopping commercial traffic from entering or departing Iranian ports.

The naval operation has been supported by Operation Economic Outcast, a Trump administration campaign involving multiple government agencies. The initiative aims to cut off Tehran’s remaining sources of revenue by targeting financial networks, sanctions-evasion schemes and oil-smuggling operations linked to the Iranian regime.

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Cooper said CENTCOM is coordinating with all six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, along with U.S. government agencies, insurers and shipping firms, in an effort to expand commercial traffic through the waterway.

“The effort is paying off,” Cooper said.

The command is also assisting regional allies with air-defense capabilities and working to create a “new coalition attack drone unit” as missile and drone dangers grow in other parts of the Middle East.

The statement came as tensions rose again in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition said Saturday that it had intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile launched toward Riyadh. The Iran-backed group separately claimed it had carried out missile and drone strikes against “sensitive” targets in the Saudi capital. Flames and dark smoke were seen near King Khalid International Airport, though officials had not immediately determined what caused the fire.

Iran’s military disputed Cooper’s account. Armed forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi called the CENTCOM figures “false” and “ridiculous,” describing the announcement as an unsuccessful psychological operation.

“The initiative in the Strait of Hormuz remains in the hands of Iran’s powerful armed forces,” Shekarchi said in remarks carried by Iranian state media.

The growing military partnership between the United States and Gulf nations comes just days before President Donald Trump is expected to meet with the leaders of all six Gulf Arab states in New York. His administration is weighing its next moves in the conflict with Iran, which is approaching its seventh month.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told – News on Saturday that Trump remains “very focused” on preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Waltz added that the upcoming U.N. General Assembly could offer “a moment to continue that diplomacy.”

On social media, Nigerian-born British businessman Igho ‘Tiny’ Ubiribo presented an image of enviable success.

His Instagram feed showed a glamorous fashion designer and influencer wife, designer clothes, expensive cars, luxury property and a seemingly endless round of high-end resorts. To his 186,000 followers, Ubiribo—known online as Ego2222—appeared to be living a life of extraordinary wealth and satisfaction.

Yet how happy, or financially secure, he truly was remains unclear to both his followers and relatives. An inquest into his death earlier this year revealed that Ubiribo became the first British man known to have died after undergoing penis-enlargement treatment overseas.

He died in Bangkok in March after suffering a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot that travelled to his lungs.

Westminster Coroner’s Court heard that the clot was linked to a ‘cosmetic injection’ administered to his penis. His cause of death was recorded as a ‘genital hyaluronic acid injection’.

Hyaluronic acid, a filler widely used in cosmetic treatments, was also detected in his lungs.

The inquest was told that Ubiribo, a flamboyant businessman and father of eight, had visited a Bangkok clinic while living in the Thai capital with his British-born ‘wife’, Danielle Simba Allen. He owned a £450,000 flat in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, and appeared to have interests in a chain of petrol stations in Nigeria. However, it remains unclear whether he and Allen were legally married—or why he chose to have the procedure.

The body naturally produces hyaluronic acid, which draws water into nearby tissue and creates a plumping effect. That property has made it popular in wrinkle treatments, as well as in intimate cosmetic procedures for men.

A few hours after the appointment, Ubiribo developed chest pain and collapsed while receiving a massage at the Marriott Hotel. He remained conscious during the ambulance journey to Samitivej Hospital in central Bangkok, but lost consciousness before doctors could complete a CT scan. He died in the early hours of March 6.

His death has drawn attention to the carefully manufactured image of perfection on Instagram—and to the potentially dangerous lengths some men go to in pursuit of the unrealistic appearance promoted online.

It has also left Ubiribo’s family demanding a clearer account of his final hours. Speaking exclusively to the Mail, relatives rejected the suggestion that he had any concerns about his penis. They said his nickname came from his small ears, not from anything else.

‘No one [in the family] believes that the procedure was the cause of his death. He didn’t have a micro penis, he didn’t have anything to be ashamed of,’ said his 21-year-old son, Junior.

Junior, an IT worker and one of Ubiribo’s eight children with different women, fought back tears as he said he remained unconvinced that the family had been given the complete story of what happened.

‘He’s had multiple partners, he wouldn’t need a penis enlargement. But what I do remember is that when he got with Danielle he would ask about cosmetic surgery, and also what was good to take to stay healthy.

‘It’s actually quite painful to read these reports about him having this surgery because he didn’t need it.’

In Thailand, meanwhile, the clinic where the injection was administered said Ubiribo had been a regular patient. According to the clinic, he had undergone five rounds of injections since 2024.

The first four treatments were carried out during 2024 and 2025. The fifth, and ultimately fatal, visit took place in March this year.

This week, Thailand’s health ministry, which has launched an investigation into Ubiribo’s death, told the Mail: ‘On the fifth occasion, March 5, 2026, the patient received a filler injection in the genital area totalling 40cc.

‘The doctor recommended dividing the injection into two sessions, but the patient preferred a single injection.

‘During each visit, the clinic provided post-operative care instructions and followed up with the patient. The patient did not report any problems with the procedure. Furthermore, the patient signed a consent form before each treatment.’

Fathers, of course, don’t share everything with their sons – especially information as private as this. But Junior is also baffled about the wall of silence that has descended since his father’s death.

That there was more to Igho Ubiribo than meets the eye on Instagram is beyond doubt.

He’d been living under a cloud since 2023 when authorities in Nigeria declared that he was wanted for questioning along with Ms Allen and a second woman over allegations that he was running an international drug- trafficking ring.

But why, Junior asks, has Ms Allen apparently cut herself off from the family in the wake of the death?

‘He was a rich man,’ he said. ‘He had businesses and properties all over the world, but I and my siblings haven’t seen a penny.

‘Where is all the money? We’ve asked Danielle but she refuses to take our calls and has now blocked us. Why would you do that? The only one who has the answers is Danielle, but she’s proving impossible to contact.’

Junior went to view his dad’s body in the mortuary of a west London funeral home and was baffled by what he saw. He videoed the visit and insisted on showing it to us. It’s a short video, recorded on Junior’s Meta glasses – hi-tech spectacles that can capture footage. There is Ubiribo, lying covered by a white sheet with only his head showing.

It could be a man sleeping, but there is something odd about the sunken position of one eye and a distinctive line across the middle of his forehead.

‘Look at that mark,’ said Junior. ‘Where has that come from? He never had any lines on his forehead. The undertaker said it must have been caused by a hat.

‘Then the left eye socket – look how it’s sunk in and there is another mark to the side. It just doesn’t look right.’

To Junior, it all feels rather suspicious.

‘We wanted to have a second autopsy here in London, but apparently because my dad had been embalmed twice – we still don’t know why – we’ve been told the results will be useless.’

He didn’t even know his father’s inquest was being held until after it had happened and Ms Allen forwarded some documents.

‘The first we knew was when she sent some documents to my aunt,’ he said.

‘She said she had joined [the inquest] by Zoom… no one was there for the family.’

Ms Allen did indeed dial into the inquest in a video conference call, although her camera was switched off.

The 44-year-old is understood to be living in South Africa, where she flew following her husband’s extravagant funeral in London in May.

In footage from the funeral she can be seen in a figure-hugging black dress, standing next to Ubiribo’s grave at Mortlake Cemetery, west London.

Earlier, streets around Our Lady of Victories Roman Catholic Church in Kensington, west London, ground to a halt as the cortege of cars arrived and Ubiribo’s gold coffin – reportedly worth £500,000 – was carried in.

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Junior said: ‘My grandparents and my siblings had limited involvement with the funeral. It was controlled by Danielle, and any details we got didn’t come from her but the undertakers.

‘Because we had wanted questions answered she refused to engage with us, but surely we have a right as a family to know what happened.

‘He was my dad, after all.’ Junior goes so far as to question the legality of the couple’s marriage, explaining that they’d had a ‘so-called’ wedding in Zimbabwe in 2022 and, another earlier US one in Las Vegas that was annulled after a year.

Whatever their marital status, Ms Allen, who moved to Nigeria to open a franchise of The Body Shop before launching a fashion career, always appeared to be a doting wife on social media.

She has 132,000 followers of her own on Instagram, but hasn’t shared a public post since November 2025.

Ubiribo and Ms Allen’s Las Vegas wedding in July 2021 – seven months after they met in a Lagos nightclub – is there for all to see on her Instagram feed.

Bride and groom are shown in a tiny chapel, both wearing white, with Ms Allen apparently dripping in diamonds and clutching a tiny bouquet of white roses. Intriguingly, however, court files in Nevada unearthed by the Mail reveal the marriage was annulled after just a year in 2023 with the bizarre reason given that he ‘couldn’t stand her pets’.

Despite the annulment, the couple, who lived in the US for a while, still happily posted pictures of themselves together, even captioning them as ‘man and wife’ and ‘happily married’.

They went through a traditional Nigerian-themed ceremony in the bride’s family homeland of Zimbabwe six months later, where the lavish three-day celebration in Harare garnered newspaper headlines.

As to their more recent whereabouts, Junior says they had been living in Thailand in an apartment.

They had not been in Nigeria, where they once lived, for some time – not since Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency issued a national appeal in April 2023 to track the couple, declaring that Ubiribo, Ms Allen and another woman were ‘wanted’ in connection with the recruitment of teenage girls into drug trafficking.

They were suspected of serving as the ‘arrowheads’ of an international drugs syndicate operating from Los Angeles.

‘The first I heard of that was when Dad and Danielle were in London,’ said Junior.

‘It was my 18th birthday and we were supposed to be going out, but then this broke on the internet and it was all cancelled.

‘I know that after that, they never went back to Nigeria.’

He readily admitted that he and Ms Allen did not get on, adding: ‘In the last few months of his life, Dad and I fell out over his relationship with Danielle.

‘She was jealous that he was still in touch with previous partners and the mothers of his children.

‘Everyone said that in the last few weeks he had really changed and they all said it was down to Danielle, who can be very controlling, especially when it came to finances.

‘I remember that when my siblings and I were with Dad, she would always be on the phone asking where we were.’

Whatever Junior says, there is no doubt that on their Instagram accounts, right up until November 2025 when they suddenly stop posting updates, the couple’s posts are wildly affectionate.

‘You continue to take my breath away with our spontaneous adventures. My love, my world, I’m forever thankful for you, for us,’ wrote Ms Allen in July 2025.

‘Every day with you is a gift, and every moment feels like magic. I thank God for you always, my heart, my home, my forever,’ typed Ubiribo, the same month.

It makes the absence of updates for the last seven months of Igho’s life seem all the more strange.

What is stranger for Junior is what has happened since.

‘Before Danielle cut us off she refused to return any of my dad’s belongings. I wanted a T-shirt or something to keep which had his smell on it, but she refused, and we asked for his phone as well, but she said we couldn’t have it.

‘There are watches and jewellery, but we’ve not seen anything.

‘She said that she is the next of kin and we can’t have anything, and there is no will. But my dad was always stressing the importance of making a will. We just don’t believe it.

‘When we started asking questions, she just suddenly got defensive. In the end before we stopped talking, she said I had to come to South Africa if I wanted his stuff.

‘That to me sounded like a threat. South Africa is a dangerous place and I can’t go there.

‘I even offered to go to Bangkok after Dad died to help clear out the apartment – they lived in a high-rise – but she said no. We haven’t spoken since he died really. I saw her at Dad’s funeral, but we didn’t speak. Dad was worth millions, he had a lot of assets. Where has it all gone?’

The Mail tried to contact Ms Allen by various means, but was unable to reach her. It is not known why she broke off contact.

While there is no evidence of any foul play regarding the circumstances surrounding Ubiribo’s death, Junior said his family had reported their concerns to the Metropolitan Police, but the force was unable to help.

The family has also contacted lawyers in the hope that they may be able to instigate a wider investigation.

Sitting in a south London café, Junior said: ‘Dad said that he was working for his children, he wanted them to be taken care of and be looked after, but we’ve seen nothing, and we can’t get any answers.

‘He wasn’t a perfect dad, but he did care for us. I know his communication was poor, but he didn’t have a good upbringing himself.

‘He loved us a lot, he just wasn’t always there. But we all miss him.

‘We just want answers and our share of the rightful inheritance.

‘My dad wasn’t just someone who died with a small penis, which he didn’t have in the first place.

‘The whole thing is really mean because he can’t speak out, which is why I’m doing it now.’

Taryn Elder thought she was living her “dream life” on the Gold Coast, building a career in tourism marketing while exercising and making the most of Queensland’s outdoors. Then a series of seemingly minor health problems began to worsen.

At 39, she put her constant exhaustion down to long commutes, the pressure of a contract job and the demands of everyday life.

Repeated sinus infections were diagnosed as viral illnesses, aching legs were attributed to walking, and night sweats were blamed on inadequate air conditioning.

Even when her fatigue became so severe that she would sleep for hours after exercising, Taryn continued to rationalise what was happening. She believed she simply needed more rest.

“I was a healthy 39-year-old living my best life. Then my life changed overnight,” Taryn, now 40, told the Daily Mail.

After more than a year of unexplained symptoms, a blood test in March 2026 delivered the diagnosis: acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), an aggressive form of blood cancer.

Within days, she had relocated to Victoria to be closer to family while undergoing intensive chemotherapy.

Symptoms explained away

The first warning signs appeared 18 months before her diagnosis, with persistent fatigue, recurring sinus infections and aching muscles.

The infections would clear before returning again. Fitting medical appointments into her lunch breaks, Taryn often saw whichever doctor was available.

“Every time they said, ‘It’s viral, we can’t really do anything. You obviously have pretty bad sinuses,’” she recalled.

One infection became so serious that she was referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist. Surgery was recommended, but taking several weeks away from work did not feel possible.

“I was working really hard because it was on a contract, so I was really trying to prove myself,” she said.

Instead, she doubled down on self-care, exercising regularly, eating well and making an effort to get more sleep.

Still, further symptoms appeared. She assumed her sore legs were the result of walking, while the night sweats were put down to the lack of air conditioning.

A visit to Victoria for Christmas in 2025 exposed just how unwell she had become. A Pilates session left her needing hours to recover, and socialising felt beyond her, but she continued to blame the exhaustion on a particularly demanding year.

Back in Queensland, exhaustion intensified. She napped through lunch on work-from-home days and withdrew socially. 

‘I can’t explain it. I just feel so burnt out… I shouldn’t be feeling this way because I’m trying to do all of the right things,’ she confided to her aunt, who urged her to get blood tests. 

Searching for answers

Approaching 40, she wondered about hormonal changes and booked a long appointment, requesting comprehensive tests. 

‘You hear so much about perimenopause and hormonal changes when you get into your late 30s and early 40s, and so I just wanted to find out what was going on,’ she said.

Travel delayed the tests, but when completed, she received urgent calls from her clinic. Breathless after gym, she was told to come in immediately and bring a support person. 

Her doctor explained that abnormal cells suggested AML. 

‘What is that? Am I going to die?’ she asked.

A bone marrow biopsy confirmed it and within hours, she was on a plane to Victoria, leaving behind her job and friends who packed up her home.

‘I just thought I was a normal person and I would never go through a cancer diagnosis,’ she said. 

Five months of chemo

Her first hospital stay lasted five weeks. The chemotherapy was brutal – she received 10 blood transfusions, battled infections and recovered only to enter another four-month hospital cycle. 

In total, she spent about 100 days as an inpatient. 

Usually energetic and extroverted, she found herself hiding away. 

‘I’m usually a very vibrant and out-there person. But when I found out, I just pretty much went and hid. I didn’t really want to talk to anyone.’

She then lost her hair and barely recognised herself. 

‘I felt like a shadow of myself,’ she said.

Remission brought hope – and a ‘deep molecular response’. 

She then entered a clinical trial at Barwon Health, hoping a new vaccine would train her immune system.

‘I feel very privileged to be on that trial. My diagnosis may do some good for future patients… and hopefully save my life at the same time.’

Yet life remains changed. She now lives permanently in Victoria, expects at least another year of maintenance treatment and has recently been approved for part-time freelance work. 

‘I have really had to leave my ego at the door and just slow down,’ she said.

Learning to live slowly 

In Barwon Heads, Taryn walks, spends time with her dog, illustrates again and sees a psychologist to process everything.

And as her immunity recovers, she is reconnecting with friends.

‘I just have to be really kind to myself and remember that I’m not the same woman that I was before the diagnosis, and it will be a rebuild,’ she said. 

The experience changed how she thinks about her symptoms and about self-advocacy. 

‘I think that we all get so busy that we put off those medical appointments and those tests, and I just really need people to understand that you absolutely shouldn’t. You should always listen to your body if you know something’s not right.’

The strangers helping keep cancer patients alive

One of Taryn’s biggest surprises was realising how much cancer treatment depends on strangers. She needed 10 blood transfusions in her first hospital stay and learnt that future patients may need stem cell transplants from matched donors.

Trying to make sense of her experience, she used her professional skills to advocate publicly for blood and stem cell donation. 

Friends and strangers alike responded; she later helped raise $15,000 for the Andrew Love Cancer Centre. 

A $1,000 donation came from a woman Taryn had never met, who told her she’d received the same diagnosis 30 years earlier: ‘She said, ‘I am on the other side of this, and you will be too.’

How to register as a stem cell donor 

Taryn now urges eligible Australians to learn about stem cell donation, having discovered how vital donors are for blood cancer patients. 

Registration is straightforward: your tissue type is recorded so doctors can search for compatible matches if needed.

‘I think there’s a really bad stigma around becoming a stem cell donor. But if you ever get the call up, you’re actually saving someone’s life,’ Taryn said.

Her cancer diagnosis may have forced her to give up her home and career, but it revealed how far people will go for someone else. Friends packed her house; family sat by her side. Strangers gave blood and money, helping keep her alive.

‘Going through a diagnosis like this, you realise what’s important in your life. It’s all of the people that show up for you.’