A man was diagnosed with leukaemia after originally mistaking his symptoms for long Covid
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A man who thought he had long Covid found out he was actually battling leukaemia.
Robert Hale, 32, was struck down with coronavirus last February but even after a few weeks he still had low energy.
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Hide AdHe visited doctors who said he had fatigue and said one gave him a ‘’huge lecture’’ about his eating habits and the need to eat more fibre - including broccoli.
But aerospace worker Robert, of Thornbury, Gloucestershire, noticed a strange rash and he was diagnosed with leukaemia.
Initially he was given just weeks to live, but it turned out his sister was a match for a bone marrow transplant, and now he is in remission.


‘Long Covid was being advertised everywhere, and my symptoms fit’
He said: ‘’I had no appetite and no energy to do much aside from work and sleep.
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Hide Ad“The doctor’s gave me a huge lecture about how I wasn’t eating enough and needed more fiber in my diet.
“I was then called about 24 hours later by the doctors where I was told I had a vitamin B deficiency, and was given another lecture about eating more broccoli.
“I was napping a lot at work. Probably about two or three times a day.
“At the time, long Covid was being advertised everywhere and all my symptoms fit the condition to a T - so I just left it for two months, until one day my back was really itchy.
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Hide Ad“I showed my parents, and my dad urged I see a doctor immediately.”
The doctor’s completed a blood test and asked Robert a series of lifestyle questions.


‘I never would have guessed it was cancer’
A few days later, Robert was told he has leukaemia.
He said: “I left it so long as I just assumed it was long Covid because it was the biggest thing on the news.
“I found myself being put off going to the doctors because I didn’t want to burden them or catch something. In 100 years I never would have guessed it was cancer.
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Hide Ad“So go see a doctor and get yourself checked. I got lucky the doctors picked it up eventually. If I left it a couple more weeks I wouldn’t be here.”
Robert was sent to chemotherapy where he was told he had two/three weeks left to live.
As part of his treatment, Robert required a bone marrow transplant and as it turned out, his sister was an 100% match.
Robert has been in and out of hospital for months after also suffering a stroke which almost left him paralysed.
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‘Even if I get a cold it could be deadly’
As a way of dealing with everything, Robert started an Instagram account - @robs_cancer_journey - to document his journey, which ended up becoming his own support network.
“Because of Covid, all of the hospital support groups stopped running.
“So, Instagram became a kind of online therapy group. You could find someone else’s story of a similar situation, or they find yours and you both reach out.
“The more I knew about my condition, the better I felt.
“One of the toughest things is the isolation. I haven’t seen a lot of my friends since April last year. There’s only so much Netflix one person can watch!
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Hide Ad“A lot of people think isolating for 10 days is bad enough, but try over two years.
“When I read about people who are sick and tired of the Covid rules, asking ‘why should I wear a mask?’, I’m sat here thinking the restrictions are there to protect people like me, not you.
“Despite being - fingers crossed - rid of the cancer now, the possibility of living another five years with the transplant is quite slim.
“The doctors say I have the immune system of a baby, and even if I get a cold it could be deadly.”
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Hide AdTwo weeks ago his test results came back all clear, but he’s waiting for more results to clarify the cancer has gone from his body.
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