Woman, 30, thought heavy period was caused by Covid booster - but she actually had leukaemia

A pharmacist discovered she had leukaemia after having a heavy period – which she initially thought was caused by her Covid booster.

Victoria Lang, 30, thought her heavy bleeding might have been down to having the vaccine just two days before her period started.

But she was stunned when medics told her she had Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia in March last year.

‘I started bleeding really badly’

Victoria spent 42 days in hospital after being diagnosed – and said she might not have caught the cancer if she hadn’t noticed the abnormal period.

She said the bleeding was like someone had ‘turned a tap on’ and bled through a tampon and a pad while at work.

Victoria, from Banton, North Lanarkshire, said she had a few bruises and a slight loss of appetite but didn’t have any other symptoms.

Victoria said: “I had a normal period in February but then in March I started bleeding really badly and I knew it was an abnormal period.

“Two days after I had my covid vaccine booster I started bleeding and it was horrific. I woke up in the morning and I had to run and get a towel to hold under me.

“I know what is normal for me and what my periods are like and this was insane. The blood was pouring out, it was like someone had turned a tap on.

“There had been a lot in the news at the time that Covid vaccines might mess with your periods so I thought I would leave it 24 hours and see if the bleeding stopped. It carried on all that day, I wore and tampon and a pad and I bled right through them, it was an insane amount of blood.

“At the time I had a few bruises on my knee and shoulder but they were from things I could explain, so alarm bells weren’t going off. But the bruises did take ages to heal properly.”

Victoria called her GP who did some blood tests but told her she would have to be admitted to Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

A consultant told her they thought it was likely leukaemia and she was kept in the High Dependency Unit overnight before being transferred to the Beatson Cancer Centre.

‘I would say to people to just trust your instincts’

A bone marrow sample later confirmed her diagnosis and Victoria spent six weeks in hospital.

Victoria said: “I called the GP and they said to come in and have bloods taken. I went to work the next day and the GP called me to say that all my blood work was really low and he would need to admit me to hospital.

“I knew at that point something was seriously wrong and I had leukaemia in my head. I hadn’t been unwell or really had any of the symptoms so it was a shock.

“A consultant met me at the hospital and said they thought it was leukaemia but I would need to have a bone marrow sample to confirm it.

“I was transferred to the Beatson Cancer Centre and spent 42 days there. I gained about a stone in fluid weight and went up a dress size in just three weeks.

“I have been left with really bad stretch marks, you would think I had had twins, but my skin just couldn’t cope with it.”

Victoria is now in remission and is back having normal periods but she wants to warn others of the symptoms of the disease.

She added: “I would say to people to just trust your instincts, you know what is normal about your own body. I knew my period wasn’t right and if I hadn’t called the doctors to discuss it then I might not have been diagnosed as quickly.”