My sister saved my life with an act of love: now we run a business together

By Lauren Murrell, cancer survivor and co-founder and CEO of skincare brand By Sarah

In 2012, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and given a 20% chance of survival. I was only 23 at the time, and my whole life turned upside-down in an instant. Because I was suffering from blood cancer, which affects the body’s immune system, I was kept in protective isolation. 

I went from being an outgoing law student to staying in one room, at London’s University College Hospital, for months at a time. When my family visited, they had to wear face masks and plastic gloves, and they couldn’t touch me. It was a very extreme and isolating experience, but I had to get my head round it quickly – it was to become my life for several years.

Fighting for my life

I had months of chemotherapy which didn’t work and then total body irradiation (where the whole body is treated with radiation). Miraculously, it then turned out that my older sister, Sarah, was a perfect match for a life-saving stem cell transplant. 

It’s very rare for a sibling to match like this and maybe it was meant to be, because we’ve always been close. Growing up, people mistook us as twins, and my blood type actually changed to Sarah’s as a result of her donation. It was a huge blessing. 

Sarah’s transplant saved my life, but things didn’t simply go back to normal. There is a long road to recovery after leukemia. After the cancer treatment itself, I had to deal with the collateral damage. My whole body was ravaged by months of toxic and aggressive treatments. 

I was diagnosed with leukemia and given a 20 percent chance of survival

I’d lost a lot of weight, along with my hair, eyelashes and eyebrows. Even when I was out of hospital, I had to isolate at home and stick to a very restricted diet. On top of everything, my skin became highly sensitive and reactive. Even natural brands were triggering, and especially anything that involved fragrance or essential oils.

Again, Sarah came to the rescue. Being the loving sister that she is, she used her professional background in the skincare industry (having worked for Estée Lauder, Unilever and L’Oréal) to formulate products for me to enjoy on my long and grueling journey to recovery. There was no idea of a business at this point. She was just working in the moment, from the kitchen table, trying to find a solution that would soothe my skin. 

Rebuilding body and mind

Obviously, I was a completely different person by this point. But I was also determined to pick up where I left off, and return to law school. Luckily, the law firm that awarded me a job years earlier honored the appointment, and, in 2014, I started work as a corporate lawyer in the City. That felt huge because it was what I had worked so hard for – and what had been taken away from me when I fell ill.

Back when I was in hospital, fighting to stay alive, I had two posters on my wall. One was of a New York cityscape, and the other was a beach scene from the Caribbean. These images were so much more than pretty pictures for me. They were beacons of hope and became physical reminders of life beyond illness, during my lowest periods. 

 

I’d gone from life-or-death to living on a Caribbean island 

So perhaps it was fate that, several years later, I had the opportunity to work in Manhattan. That poster became a reality. I lived in Battery Park, and my office was on the 37th floor of a skyscraper in the financial district, so I had a wonderful walk to work every day. I couldn’t believe that I’d gone from life-or-death to working alongside brilliant, smart people in one of the world’s most vibrant cities. On weekends, I would hire a bike and whiz up and down the Hudson River pathways: meeting friends and exploring NYC. The whole thing was magical. 

With my wanderlust stoked, I then packed up my life into three suitcases and relocated to the British Virgin Islands, on the Caribbean island of Tortola. I joined a local law firm and enjoyed a corner office looking out onto the aquamarine ocean flanked by palm trees. Again, it was an image straight out of my other hospital poster: the most beautiful place I’ve been to. 

Channeling the love of sisters

Unfortunately, my life took another unexpected turn at that point, when Hurricane Irma struck the British Virgin Islands in September 2017. Along with two neighbors, I took shelter while winds of 180 miles an hour shook the house we were staying in. Afterwards, there was complete devastation but at least we were alive. After five days being cut off from the rest of the world, I was rescued and evacuated off the island.

I was heartbroken. Adventure is such a big part of me: I found it so restorative to be immersed in Caribbean nature, having been trapped in a clinical environment for so long. I relished being independent, too. There were times during my illness where my family had to help me upstairs and even feed me. So it was amazing to go from that to a place of exploration and travel.

Our skincare business is founded in the value of sisterly love

Returning to the UK, I said to my sister, “Where do I go from here?” In my years of traveling, Sarah had continued supplying her skincare creations to friends and family. With both of us at a crossroads in life, we thought, “What if we can take it further?” We thought perhaps we could help others struggling with stressed and sensitive skin; whether that’s due to rosacea, eczema, life changes (e.g. menopause) or beyond. 

And so our brand, By Sarah, was born. We started off on a shoestring, formulating solutions in small batches, and getting out to spread the word at workshops and events. It turns out, Sarah and I make a great double act. She takes care of the visionary, product side of the brand, while I focus on business growth. As sisters, we’re able to be very direct and it’s been fun to learn together. 

The power of mindset

Fast-forward to today, and By Sarah is a thriving, multi award-winning B Corp business. Our loyal customers love our collection because it’s primarily about skin health rather than beauty, or looking ten years younger. And, where once upon a time, “problem” skincare solutions were pretty unappealing, our skincare feels like a gift. Our products are clinically proven, but they’ll also take pride of place on your bathroom shelf. It’s such a thrill to see By Sarah become a success: especially since it’s all founded in our core value of sisterly love. 

For a long time, I didn’t talk about what I’d been through with cancer. I wanted to put the whole experience behind me. But Covid changed all that. At a time where many people felt alone and trapped, I realized my own story could really help others. It no longer felt like a burden, or something I had to hide. 

Whatever life throws at you, there’s always a path forward

When I was battling leukemia in my early 20s, I relied heavily on the power of visualization. Long before it became a wellness trend, my family and I were very intentional about curating my hospital environment. We used prompts like the travel posters, and a yoga mat to encourage me to move my body, even when I was really poorly. And those cues were instrumental to my recovery. 

I also had self-compassion: I allowed myself to feel distraught when things got heavy, because that was all part of the process of working through it. It wasn’t about being super-positive. But when you’re cast off from life for so long, it’s quite easy to fall into a victimhood mindset and feel powerless. There were practical things that I did to try and give myself a sense of agency, in a situation where I didn’t have much at all. 

Above all, the experience taught me the truth of one of my favorite mantras, from the Persian poet Rumi: “live life as if everything is rigged in your favor”. Whatever life throws at you, there’s always a path forward. Knowing that has given me wings, bringing my sister and I closer than ever. 

Lauren’s travel must-haves

• By Sarah Reviver Hydrating Mist for instant, post-flight hydration
• Jones Road Miracle Balm in Dusky Rose, for moisturizing color on the move
• Papier notebook for on-the-go journaling
• The Knotty Ones Prietema Jacket for a dash of coziness, and versatile chic
• By Sarah Sunscreen, launching 10 September 2024 – stay tuned

Lauren Murrell is a cancer survivor, entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of skincare brand By Sarah.

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