Joseph Beaver had just started a new job when his face began to droop
Joseph Beaver had just started a new job when an instructor raised concerns about his health, noting that something about his face didn’t look quite right.
“I was in the training sessions for my job at Gatwick Immigration Removal Centre,” says the 50-year-old, who now lives in Glasgow.
“One of the trainers was concerned and asked if I was getting enough sleep. Soon after, another colleague noted my face looked a bit droopy, and then my boss insisted I go to the hospital,” he adds, recounting the beginning of his health ordeal that began in 2021.
Doctors initially diagnosed Joseph with Bell’s Palsy – a neurological disorder that can cause one side of the face to become weak and difficult to move.
Joseph was prescribed steroids to treat the condition, but things worsened over the following days. And ultimately led to a brutal battle with cancer.
“I took a selfie and, in that picture, my face looks shocking. That was the start of the nightmare,” he explains.
“I went to see Spider-Man at the cinema with my family and my face became frozen. I remember calling NHS 111 to get a doctor’s appointment and they told me to go to the local hospital.”
After arriving at A&E, Joseph ended up spending two weeks in hospital where he went through tests and scans, with doctors ruling out multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease before finally diagnosing him with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). This is a serious neurological disease that needs urgent medical attention and affects the ability to move, breathe, and disrupts the heartbeat.
Typically, symptoms begin in the legs or arms before rising up through the body, but Joseph was experiencing the symptoms from the head down.
“My whole face became frozen, completely,” he recalls, explaining he lost his ability to swallow and his speech became incoherent as GBS took hold.
“I was developing serious sweats. I was hiccupping almost 72 hours. I was suffering from many different things. My wife, Rachelle, was told they didn’t think I was going to make it. They’d started to consider if it was a form of Central Nervous System lymphoma, which is basically terminal.” After undergoing CT scans, MRI scans, bone marrow and spinal fluid testing, and after round after round of blood tests, doctors ruled out various forms of leukaemia, including a form of leukaemia called T Cell Large Granular Lymphocytic Leukaemia (TLGL).
He was discharged following his GBS diagnosis but weeks later Joseph received a call from a junior haematologist who asked him how he was dealing with his TLGL symptoms.
Stunned, Joseph asked what they were talking about, only for the junior clinician to realise he had inadvertently given him a full diagnosis over the phone.
“At an urgent appointment, a doctor apologised for the way I had been told this news,” Joseph recounts.
“To me, an apology means a lot. So I was able to ask what was I dealing with and what could we do to treat it.”
TLGL is a type of blood cancer that affects white blood cells, impacting the immune system, and is part of a wider group of leukaemia called Large granular lymphocyte (LGL) which 240 people in the UK are diagnosed with each year.
The sickness can develop slowly or rapidly and, while treatable, there is norecognised cure.
Patients with the condition can be treated using immunosuppressive therapies like methotrexate which act to support the immune system to stop it from attacking the body’s own tissues.
While typical symptoms of TLGL include bruising and bleeding more easily, high temperature, frequent infections, and anaemia – which can cause tiredness and breathlessness.
“I was very tired,” Joseph says, recalling his past symptoms.
“I had night sweats where I would wake up soaking in sweat. I was bruising. I could fall and bruise up. The time it took to recover from a minor cut took a wee bit longer.
“When I was finally diagnosed, I did what a lot of people would do. You turn to Dr Google. For leukaemia, you will see the median survival is nine to 10 years, so you immediately fear you’ve got just nine or 10 years left. I’m not emotional, but I remember holding onto Rachelle thinking, ‘I’ve got cancer.’
“For a while, the diagnosis was affecting every aspect of my life. I had my medical letters which I would check continuously every day, from nine until five. I was crying on the bus. It was really hard to accept this.”
Joseph now works alongside Leukaemia UK as a Community Champion and hopes his own story can help raise awareness of this rare condition – and that he can be a source of comfort for others.
“After doing more research, I learned TLGL is a lifetime condition and you work with it,” he explains.
“I’ve got friends who’ve been living with it for 20, 30, years. I’m 50, so I think in 20 or 30 years’ time, that’ll take me up to 80.
Some people see this as a good cancer, which it is not. But it is one that doesn’t metastasize or go into any other organs or turn into one of the serious types of leukaemia.”
It has been almost four years since Joseph was first diagnosed with this rare form of cancer.
The disease is in an indolent state, meaning he does not require treatment to hold back the disease.
He also has frequent blood tests to monitor his condition and has been losing weight to improve his health. And he hasn’t let his misfortune hold him back.
“I’ve got wee part-time job at the local Tesco, and I’m constantly volunteering,” he says – recounting how he has helped marshal events across the UK from charity walks and sporting fixtures to the King’s Coronation in 2023.
“I can become tired and for any type of leukaemia or type of cancer, you must look after yourself.”
Joseph also praised his support network for helping him throughout his health ordeal.
“I don’t know where I would have been without my wife, Rachelle,” he says.
“We’ve been together five years and married for three and a half. She looked after me so much during the illness. She helped so much. I’ve now got a stepdaughter as well, who was also so supportive. And I’ve got my cat, Crystal, as well. She would sit at the end of my bed continuously. She is my wee buddy.”
Featuring: Joseph Beaver
Where: Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
When: 11 Jun 2025
Credit: Joseph Beaver/Cover Images
**EDITORIAL USE ONLY. MATERIALS ONLY TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH EDITORIAL STORY. THE USE OF THESE MATERIALS FOR ADVERTISING, MARKETING OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL PURPOSE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. MATERIAL COPYRIGHT REMAINS WITH STATED PHOTOGRAPHER AND/OR SUPPLIER.**
(Image: Cover)Joseph Beaver knew something was wrong when his workmates kept saying something was up with his face. He was urged to go to hospital in what he says was ‘the start of a nightmare’.
Colleagues had noticed that his face had begun to droop, and he had a bout of hiccups that lasted 72 hours. It led to a hospital visit where doctors initially informed his wife that they ‘didn’t think he was going to make it’, reports Glasgow Live.
The 50-year-old Glaswegian said it all happened as he trained for a new job at Gatwick Immigration Removal Centre. His colleagues kept commenting on his drooping face – prompting his boss to urge him to seek medical attention. “One of the trainers was concerned and asked if I was getting enough sleep. Soon after, another colleague noted my face looked a bit droopy, and then my boss insisted I go to the hospital,” he explains.
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Initially, doctors thought Joseph was suffering from Bell’s Palsy, a condition causing facial weakness, and prescribed steroids. However, Joseph’s situation deteriorated rapidly. “I took a selfie and, in that picture, my face looks shocking. That was the start of the nightmare,” he said.
The ordeal reached a climax during a family outing to the cinema. “I went to see Spider-Man at the cinema with my family and my face became frozen. I remember calling NHS 111 to get a doctor’s appointment and they told me to go to the local hospital.”
Upon arrival at A&E, Joseph faced a two-week hospital stay where he underwent numerous tests and scans. Doctors initially ruled out conditions like multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease before diagnosing him with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), which is a severe neurological disorder needing immediate medical care as it impairs movement, breathing, and can alter heart rhythms.
Joseph Beaver had just started a new job when an instructor raised concerns about his health, noting that something about his face didn’t look quite right.
“I was in the training sessions for my job at Gatwick Immigration Removal Centre,” says the 50-year-old, who now lives in Glasgow.
“One of the trainers was concerned and asked if I was getting enough sleep. Soon after, another colleague noted my face looked a bit droopy, and then my boss insisted I go to the hospital,” he adds, recounting the beginning of his health ordeal that began in 2021.
Doctors initially diagnosed Joseph with Bell’s Palsy – a neurological disorder that can cause one side of the face to become weak and difficult to move.
Joseph was prescribed steroids to treat the condition, but things worsened over the following days. And ultimately led to a brutal battle with cancer.
“I took a selfie and, in that picture, my face looks shocking. That was the start of the nightmare,” he explains.
“I went to see Spider-Man at the cinema with my family and my face became frozen. I remember calling NHS 111 to get a doctor’s appointment and they told me to go to the local hospital.”
After arriving at A&E, Joseph ended up spending two weeks in hospital where he went through tests and scans, with doctors ruling out multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease before finally diagnosing him with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). This is a serious neurological disease that needs urgent medical attention and affects the ability to move, breathe, and disrupts the heartbeat.
Typically, symptoms begin in the legs or arms before rising up through the body, but Joseph was experiencing the symptoms from the head down.
“My whole face became frozen, completely,” he recalls, explaining he lost his ability to swallow and his speech became incoherent as GBS took hold.
“I was developing serious sweats. I was hiccupping almost 72 hours. I was suffering from many different things. My wife, Rachelle, was told they didn’t think I was going to make it. They’d started to consider if it was a form of Central Nervous System lymphoma, which is basically terminal.” After undergoing CT scans, MRI scans, bone marrow and spinal fluid testing, and after round after round of blood tests, doctors ruled out various forms of leukaemia, including a form of leukaemia called T Cell Large Granular Lymphocytic Leukaemia (TLGL).
He was discharged following his GBS diagnosis but weeks later Joseph received a call from a junior haematologist who asked him how he was dealing with his TLGL symptoms.
Stunned, Joseph asked what they were talking about, only for the junior clinician to realise he had inadvertently given him a full diagnosis over the phone.
“At an urgent appointment, a doctor apologised for the way I had been told this news,” Joseph recounts.
“To me, an apology means a lot. So I was able to ask what was I dealing with and what could we do to treat it.”
TLGL is a type of blood cancer that affects white blood cells, impacting the immune system, and is part of a wider group of leukaemia called Large granular lymphocyte (LGL) which 240 people in the UK are diagnosed with each year.
The sickness can develop slowly or rapidly and, while treatable, there is norecognised cure.
Patients with the condition can be treated using immunosuppressive therapies like methotrexate which act to support the immune system to stop it from attacking the body’s own tissues.
While typical symptoms of TLGL include bruising and bleeding more easily, high temperature, frequent infections, and anaemia – which can cause tiredness and breathlessness.
“I was very tired,” Joseph says, recalling his past symptoms.
“I had night sweats where I would wake up soaking in sweat. I was bruising. I could fall and bruise up. The time it took to recover from a minor cut took a wee bit longer.
“When I was finally diagnosed, I did what a lot of people would do. You turn to Dr Google. For leukaemia, you will see the median survival is nine to 10 years, so you immediately fear you’ve got just nine or 10 years left. I’m not emotional, but I remember holding onto Rachelle thinking, ‘I’ve got cancer.’
“For a while, the diagnosis was affecting every aspect of my life. I had my medical letters which I would check continuously every day, from nine until five. I was crying on the bus. It was really hard to accept this.”
Joseph now works alongside Leukaemia UK as a Community Champion and hopes his own story can help raise awareness of this rare condition – and that he can be a source of comfort for others.
“After doing more research, I learned TLGL is a lifetime condition and you work with it,” he explains.
“I’ve got friends who’ve been living with it for 20, 30, years. I’m 50, so I think in 20 or 30 years’ time, that’ll take me up to 80.
Some people see this as a good cancer, which it is not. But it is one that doesn’t metastasize or go into any other organs or turn into one of the serious types of leukaemia.”
It has been almost four years since Joseph was first diagnosed with this rare form of cancer.
The disease is in an indolent state, meaning he does not require treatment to hold back the disease.
He also has frequent blood tests to monitor his condition and has been losing weight to improve his health. And he hasn’t let his misfortune hold him back.
“I’ve got wee part-time job at the local Tesco, and I’m constantly volunteering,” he says – recounting how he has helped marshal events across the UK from charity walks and sporting fixtures to the King’s Coronation in 2023.
“I can become tired and for any type of leukaemia or type of cancer, you must look after yourself.”
Joseph also praised his support network for helping him throughout his health ordeal.
“I don’t know where I would have been without my wife, Rachelle,” he says.
“We’ve been together five years and married for three and a half. She looked after me so much during the illness. She helped so much. I’ve now got a stepdaughter as well, who was also so supportive. And I’ve got my cat, Crystal, as well. She would sit at the end of my bed continuously. She is my wee buddy.”
Featuring: Joseph Beaver during hospital stay
Where: Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
When: 11 Jun 2025
Credit: Joseph Beaver/Cover Images
**EDITORIAL USE ONLY. MATERIALS ONLY TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH EDITORIAL STORY. THE USE OF THESE MATERIALS FOR ADVERTISING, MARKETING OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL PURPOSE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. MATERIAL COPYRIGHT REMAINS WITH STATED PHOTOGRAPHER AND/OR SUPPLIER.**
The symptoms typically start in the limbs and rise through the body, yet Joseph’s symptoms were descending from the head. “My whole face became frozen, completely,” he said, detailing the loss of his ability to swallow and the deterioration of his speech due to GBS.
“I was developing serious sweats. I was hiccupping almost 72 hours. I was suffering from many different things. My wife, Rachelle, was told they didn’t think I was going to make it. They’d started to consider if it was a form of Central Nervous System lymphoma, which is basically terminal.”
Extensive testing, including CT and MRI scans, bone marrow and spinal fluid examinations, along with continuous blood work, helped doctors to discount various types of leukaemia. Following his diagnosis with GBS, Joseph was let go from the hospital. However, in an unexpected turn, weeks later a call from a junior haematologist enquiring how Joseph was coping with his T Cell Large Granular Lymphocytic Leukaemia (TLGL) left him bewildered.
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It was during this phone conversation that the doctor inadvertently delivered a complete diagnosis to him. “At an urgent appointment, a doctor apologised for the way I had been told this news,” Joseph recounted. “To me, an apology means a lot. So I was able to ask what was I dealing with and what could we do to treat it.”
TLGL is a rare form of blood cancer that targets white blood cells, compromising the immune system, and falls under the category of Large granular lymphocyte (LGL) leukaemia, with 240 diagnosed cases in the UK each year. The disease can progress slowly or quickly, and despite being treatable, currently has no known cure.
Treatment options for patients include immunosuppressive therapies such as methotrexate, which help bolster the immune system to prevent it from attacking the body’s tissues. Typical symptoms of TLGL range from bruising and bleeding more easily, high temperature, frequent infections, to anaemia, leading to fatigue and shortness of breath.
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Joseph said: “I had night sweats where I would wake up soaking in sweat. I was bruising. I could fall and bruise up. The time it took to recover from a minor cut took a wee bit longer.”
Reflecting on his diagnosis, Joseph said: “When I was finally diagnosed, I did what a lot of people would do. You turn to Dr Google. For leukaemia, you will see the median survival is nine to 10 years, so you immediately fear you’ve got just nine or 10 years left. I’m not emotional, but I remember holding onto Rachelle thinking, ‘I’ve got cancer.’
“For a while, the diagnosis was affecting every aspect of my life. I had my medical letters which I would check continuously every day, from nine until five. I was crying on the bus. It was really hard to accept this.”
Joseph Beaver had just started a new job when an instructor raised concerns about his health, noting that something about his face didn’t look quite right.
“I was in the training sessions for my job at Gatwick Immigration Removal Centre,” says the 50-year-old, who now lives in Glasgow.
“One of the trainers was concerned and asked if I was getting enough sleep. Soon after, another colleague noted my face looked a bit droopy, and then my boss insisted I go to the hospital,” he adds, recounting the beginning of his health ordeal that began in 2021.
Doctors initially diagnosed Joseph with Bell’s Palsy – a neurological disorder that can cause one side of the face to become weak and difficult to move.
Joseph was prescribed steroids to treat the condition, but things worsened over the following days. And ultimately led to a brutal battle with cancer.
“I took a selfie and, in that picture, my face looks shocking. That was the start of the nightmare,” he explains.
“I went to see Spider-Man at the cinema with my family and my face became frozen. I remember calling NHS 111 to get a doctor’s appointment and they told me to go to the local hospital.”
After arriving at A&E, Joseph ended up spending two weeks in hospital where he went through tests and scans, with doctors ruling out multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease before finally diagnosing him with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). This is a serious neurological disease that needs urgent medical attention and affects the ability to move, breathe, and disrupts the heartbeat.
Typically, symptoms begin in the legs or arms before rising up through the body, but Joseph was experiencing the symptoms from the head down.
“My whole face became frozen, completely,” he recalls, explaining he lost his ability to swallow and his speech became incoherent as GBS took hold.
“I was developing serious sweats. I was hiccupping almost 72 hours. I was suffering from many different things. My wife, Rachelle, was told they didn’t think I was going to make it. They’d started to consider if it was a form of Central Nervous System lymphoma, which is basically terminal.” After undergoing CT scans, MRI scans, bone marrow and spinal fluid testing, and after round after round of blood tests, doctors ruled out various forms of leukaemia, including a form of leukaemia called T Cell Large Granular Lymphocytic Leukaemia (TLGL).
He was discharged following his GBS diagnosis but weeks later Joseph received a call from a junior haematologist who asked him how he was dealing with his TLGL symptoms.
Stunned, Joseph asked what they were talking about, only for the junior clinician to realise he had inadvertently given him a full diagnosis over the phone.
“At an urgent appointment, a doctor apologised for the way I had been told this news,” Joseph recounts.
“To me, an apology means a lot. So I was able to ask what was I dealing with and what could we do to treat it.”
TLGL is a type of blood cancer that affects white blood cells, impacting the immune system, and is part of a wider group of leukaemia called Large granular lymphocyte (LGL) which 240 people in the UK are diagnosed with each year.
The sickness can develop slowly or rapidly and, while treatable, there is norecognised cure.
Patients with the condition can be treated using immunosuppressive therapies like methotrexate which act to support the immune system to stop it from attacking the body’s own tissues.
While typical symptoms of TLGL include bruising and bleeding more easily, high temperature, frequent infections, and anaemia – which can cause tiredness and breathlessness.
“I was very tired,” Joseph says, recalling his past symptoms.
“I had night sweats where I would wake up soaking in sweat. I was bruising. I could fall and bruise up. The time it took to recover from a minor cut took a wee bit longer.
“When I was finally diagnosed, I did what a lot of people would do. You turn to Dr Google. For leukaemia, you will see the median survival is nine to 10 years, so you immediately fear you’ve got just nine or 10 years left. I’m not emotional, but I remember holding onto Rachelle thinking, ‘I’ve got cancer.’
“For a while, the diagnosis was affecting every aspect of my life. I had my medical letters which I would check continuously every day, from nine until five. I was crying on the bus. It was really hard to accept this.”
Joseph now works alongside Leukaemia UK as a Community Champion and hopes his own story can help raise awareness of this rare condition – and that he can be a source of comfort for others.
“After doing more research, I learned TLGL is a lifetime condition and you work with it,” he explains.
“I’ve got friends who’ve been living with it for 20, 30, years. I’m 50, so I think in 20 or 30 years’ time, that’ll take me up to 80.
Some people see this as a good cancer, which it is not. But it is one that doesn’t metastasize or go into any other organs or turn into one of the serious types of leukaemia.”
It has been almost four years since Joseph was first diagnosed with this rare form of cancer.
The disease is in an indolent state, meaning he does not require treatment to hold back the disease.
He also has frequent blood tests to monitor his condition and has been losing weight to improve his health. And he hasn’t let his misfortune hold him back.
“I’ve got wee part-time job at the local Tesco, and I’m constantly volunteering,” he says – recounting how he has helped marshal events across the UK from charity walks and sporting fixtures to the King’s Coronation in 2023.
“I can become tired and for any type of leukaemia or type of cancer, you must look after yourself.”
Joseph also praised his support network for helping him throughout his health ordeal.
“I don’t know where I would have been without my wife, Rachelle,” he says.
“We’ve been together five years and married for three and a half. She looked after me so much during the illness. She helped so much. I’ve now got a stepdaughter as well, who was also so supportive. And I’ve got my cat, Crystal, as well. She would sit at the end of my bed continuously. She is my wee buddy.”
Featuring: Joseph Beaver now
Where: Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
When: 11 Jun 2025
Credit: Joseph Beaver/Cover Images
**EDITORIAL USE ONLY. MATERIALS ONLY TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH EDITORIAL STORY. THE USE OF THESE MATERIALS FOR ADVERTISING, MARKETING OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL PURPOSE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. MATERIAL COPYRIGHT REMAINS WITH STATED PHOTOGRAPHER AND/OR SUPPLIER.**
Joseph now collaborates with Leukaemia UK in the role of a Community Champion and has set his sights on using his personal experience to increase awareness about this rare disorder – aiming to offer solace to others going through similar struggles. “After doing more research, I learned TLGL is a lifetime condition and you work with it,” he said.
“I’ve got friends who’ve been living with it for 20, 30, years. I’m 50, so I think in 20 or 30 years’ time, that’ll take me up to 80. Some people see this as a good cancer, which it is not. But it is one that doesn’t metastasize or go into any other organs or turn into one of the serious types of leukaemia.”
Currently, almost four years have elapsed since Joseph was diagnosed with this uncommon type of cancer. He finds himself in a phase of the disease where no treatment is required at this stage.
Joseph Beaver had just started a new job when an instructor raised concerns about his health, noting that something about his face didn’t look quite right.
“I was in the training sessions for my job at Gatwick Immigration Removal Centre,” says the 50-year-old, who now lives in Glasgow.
“One of the trainers was concerned and asked if I was getting enough sleep. Soon after, another colleague noted my face looked a bit droopy, and then my boss insisted I go to the hospital,” he adds, recounting the beginning of his health ordeal that began in 2021.
Doctors initially diagnosed Joseph with Bell’s Palsy – a neurological disorder that can cause one side of the face to become weak and difficult to move.
Joseph was prescribed steroids to treat the condition, but things worsened over the following days. And ultimately led to a brutal battle with cancer.
“I took a selfie and, in that picture, my face looks shocking. That was the start of the nightmare,” he explains.
“I went to see Spider-Man at the cinema with my family and my face became frozen. I remember calling NHS 111 to get a doctor’s appointment and they told me to go to the local hospital.”
After arriving at A&E, Joseph ended up spending two weeks in hospital where he went through tests and scans, with doctors ruling out multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease before finally diagnosing him with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). This is a serious neurological disease that needs urgent medical attention and affects the ability to move, breathe, and disrupts the heartbeat.
Typically, symptoms begin in the legs or arms before rising up through the body, but Joseph was experiencing the symptoms from the head down.
“My whole face became frozen, completely,” he recalls, explaining he lost his ability to swallow and his speech became incoherent as GBS took hold.
“I was developing serious sweats. I was hiccupping almost 72 hours. I was suffering from many different things. My wife, Rachelle, was told they didn’t think I was going to make it. They’d started to consider if it was a form of Central Nervous System lymphoma, which is basically terminal.” After undergoing CT scans, MRI scans, bone marrow and spinal fluid testing, and after round after round of blood tests, doctors ruled out various forms of leukaemia, including a form of leukaemia called T Cell Large Granular Lymphocytic Leukaemia (TLGL).
He was discharged following his GBS diagnosis but weeks later Joseph received a call from a junior haematologist who asked him how he was dealing with his TLGL symptoms.
Stunned, Joseph asked what they were talking about, only for the junior clinician to realise he had inadvertently given him a full diagnosis over the phone.
“At an urgent appointment, a doctor apologised for the way I had been told this news,” Joseph recounts.
“To me, an apology means a lot. So I was able to ask what was I dealing with and what could we do to treat it.”
TLGL is a type of blood cancer that affects white blood cells, impacting the immune system, and is part of a wider group of leukaemia called Large granular lymphocyte (LGL) which 240 people in the UK are diagnosed with each year.
The sickness can develop slowly or rapidly and, while treatable, there is norecognised cure.
Patients with the condition can be treated using immunosuppressive therapies like methotrexate which act to support the immune system to stop it from attacking the body’s own tissues.
While typical symptoms of TLGL include bruising and bleeding more easily, high temperature, frequent infections, and anaemia – which can cause tiredness and breathlessness.
“I was very tired,” Joseph says, recalling his past symptoms.
“I had night sweats where I would wake up soaking in sweat. I was bruising. I could fall and bruise up. The time it took to recover from a minor cut took a wee bit longer.
“When I was finally diagnosed, I did what a lot of people would do. You turn to Dr Google. For leukaemia, you will see the median survival is nine to 10 years, so you immediately fear you’ve got just nine or 10 years left. I’m not emotional, but I remember holding onto Rachelle thinking, ‘I’ve got cancer.’
“For a while, the diagnosis was affecting every aspect of my life. I had my medical letters which I would check continuously every day, from nine until five. I was crying on the bus. It was really hard to accept this.”
Joseph now works alongside Leukaemia UK as a Community Champion and hopes his own story can help raise awareness of this rare condition – and that he can be a source of comfort for others.
“After doing more research, I learned TLGL is a lifetime condition and you work with it,” he explains.
“I’ve got friends who’ve been living with it for 20, 30, years. I’m 50, so I think in 20 or 30 years’ time, that’ll take me up to 80.
Some people see this as a good cancer, which it is not. But it is one that doesn’t metastasize or go into any other organs or turn into one of the serious types of leukaemia.”
It has been almost four years since Joseph was first diagnosed with this rare form of cancer.
The disease is in an indolent state, meaning he does not require treatment to hold back the disease.
He also has frequent blood tests to monitor his condition and has been losing weight to improve his health. And he hasn’t let his misfortune hold him back.
“I’ve got wee part-time job at the local Tesco, and I’m constantly volunteering,” he says – recounting how he has helped marshal events across the UK from charity walks and sporting fixtures to the King’s Coronation in 2023.
“I can become tired and for any type of leukaemia or type of cancer, you must look after yourself.”
Joseph also praised his support network for helping him throughout his health ordeal.
“I don’t know where I would have been without my wife, Rachelle,” he says.
“We’ve been together five years and married for three and a half. She looked after me so much during the illness. She helped so much. I’ve now got a stepdaughter as well, who was also so supportive. And I’ve got my cat, Crystal, as well. She would sit at the end of my bed continuously. She is my wee buddy.”
Featuring: Joseph Beaver after being released from hospital
Where: Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
When: 11 Jun 2025
Credit: Joseph Beaver/Cover Images
**EDITORIAL USE ONLY. MATERIALS ONLY TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH EDITORIAL STORY. THE USE OF THESE MATERIALS FOR ADVERTISING, MARKETING OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL PURPOSE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. MATERIAL COPYRIGHT REMAINS WITH STATED PHOTOGRAPHER AND/OR SUPPLIER.**
His routine includes regular blood tests to keep an eye on his health, and he’s been shedding pounds to further improve his well-being. Yet, despite these challenges, he refuses to be deterred.
“I’ve got wee part-time job at the local Tesco, and I’m constantly volunteering,” he reveals – having lent his hand at marshalling various events throughout the UK, ranging from charity walks, sports events to the King’s Coronation in 2023.
“I can become tired and for any type of leukaemia or type of cancer, you must look after yourself.”
Joseph also expressed immense gratitude towards his support network for their assistance during his health struggles. “I don’t know where I would have been without my wife, Rachelle,” he said.
“We’ve been together five years and married for three and a half. She looked after me so much during the illness. She helped so much. I’ve now got a stepdaughter as well, who was also so supportive. And I’ve got my cat, Crystal, as well. She would sit at the end of my bed continuously. She is my wee buddy.”
