A NORTH Wales AM is aiming to return to the Assembly Senedd after doctors said her cancer is in remission.

Clwyd South Labour Assembly Member Karen Sinclair, 56, underwent a stem cell transplant at the renowned specialist hospital Christie’s in Didsbury, Manchester, to treat myeloma, which attacks the bone marrow.

Ms Sinclair, married to Michael and a mum of two living in Llangollen, announced in May last year that she was withdrawing from the Senedd for chemotherapy treatment to battle the disease, which was making her movement slow and painful.

The former business minister told the Daily Post the medical assessment she was in remission had been an enormous relief.

“The sun has come out again,” she said.

Doctors had cleared out diseased bone marrow in her body to create new stem cells to restore them, she said.

“I was in isolation in the transplant unit for 23 days. It’s a fantastic unit and they are experts in what they do.”

Now, more than 100 days since the stem cell transplant, the AM and former local councillor is optimistic for the future.

The AM told how she was more than two inches shorter after the illness caused vertebrae in her spine to collapse.

But her hair was returning after chemotherapy and she was slimmer by about three stone.

“I’m feeling so much better, the chemo is clearing out of my system,” she said.

“I’m feeling okay and very optimistic, that’s the main thing. It’s a huge relief.

“I am sure other people who have been down this sort of road will agree that once you know what is wrong, at least you know what you’re fighting.

“I’m not saying it makes it easier but you can focus on what it is.

“I have got every intention of carrying on as an AM, representing the people of Clwyd South.

“I have always enjoyed my job,” she added.

She said staff in her offices in the constituency and Cardiff had continued to handle the workload in her absence.

“And the ministers still know I’m there through letters, e-mails and telephone calls.”

Ms Sinclair, who was first elected to the Assembly in 1999, hoped to return to Cardiff Bay after the summer recess.

But she was concerned about the spread of swine flu, given that the effectiveness of her immune system had been lowered by the treatment.

“I am doing really well but still have to be careful,” she said.

“I am hugely grateful to the teams that have looked after me at Wrexham Maelor hospital and at Christie’s in Manchester, which is a serious world class facility.

“People don’t realise until they need these things just how important they are.

“It is an incredibly difficult time facing up to this sort of diagnosis.

“Of course you have very dark days, certainly at the beginning when you can’t envisage there’s ever going to be a tomorrow.”

She said she drew strength from a fellow sufferer who contacted her soon after she announced her illness and who had sent her an e-mail of support and kept in touch.

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