Stiliyan Petrov faced a daunting diagnosis when what he assumed was just a common cold turned out to be leukaemia.
Leukaemia is a serious cancer which affects the blood-forming tissues, including bone marrow and the lymphatic system. It often involves white blood cells which are meant to battle infections – but in this condition, a patient’s bone marrow begins producing abnormal cells that don’t function properly.
Ex-Celtic and Aston Villa midfielder Petrov was taken aback by his diagnosis in March 2012, explaining the following year as per the I: “I’ve had my hard moments but I’ve had good moments as well. I’m lucky because some people with this disease will die very quickly. I’m glad that this hard year is behind me now and I can concentrate on getting back to my life.”
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Petrov also admitted that he assumed he had nothing more than a common cold due to the overlapping symptoms of leukaemia. He explained: “At the start I thought it was just a cold, nothing serious but just something normal. When I was told what exactly the diagnosis was I was a little bit shocked but I accepted it and just wanted to start the treatment straight away,” reports Surrey Live.
Macmillan Cancer Support say that the symptoms of leukaemia can be deceptively similar to those of the common cold, such as frequent infections, feeling generally run down, experiencing sore throat or mouth, and spikes in temperature or fever.
Treating the disease can also be a complicated process, incorporating aggressive methods such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, stem cell transplants, and monoclonal antibodies – which are synthetic substances designed to target and eliminate cancer cell proteins.
Stiliyan Petrov thought he had a cold but it turned out to be leukaemia
(Image: Birmingham Post and Mail)
Petrov himself went through chemotherapy, which successfully put his leukaemia into remission, after which he transitioned to a milder two-year tablet-based treatment.
Petrov said: “I have finished all of the high intensity treatment and from now on I’ll be on the softer treatment, which is two years on tablets. It was a very, very long year but now, after all this treatment, I can go back to a normal life.”
In May 2013, after overcoming his health challenges, Petrov took a farewell walk at Villa Park, proudly leading his family in a lap of honour. By 2015, Petrov received heartening news when a bone marrow test came back clear, confirming that he was leukaemia-free.