The club are supporting World Cancer Day 2018.
February the fourth is World Cancer Day – there’s no better time to play your part in the fight against cancer.
Ben plays for Manchester City and England Junior Amputees. He is 15. Thanks to research, Ben has been able to keep playing the sport he loves.
This is his story…
At nine years old, Ben was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma. His mum Dawn knew something was up when her sporty son said he didn’t want to play football anymore because of the pain in his leg.
‘The doctor took him through – examined and checked him – and decided to take him for an x-ray,’ says Dawn. ‘After they scanned him, they called me over to show me the images – and I could see that it was cancer.’ Doctors worked to save his leg and Ben was given chemotherapy, but the cancer was very aggressive and the time was approaching to consider alternative treatment. ‘The surgeons gave me the option of having my leg amputated or having regular treatment. It was my decision to make on my own,’ says Ben.
‘I decided on amputation, because I saw people like Jonnie Peacock running at the London Paralympics and saw that being an amputee didn’t stop them. Seeing those Paralympians made me realise that I’d be able to do more than I had thought.
‘I train at Man City on Tuesdays and play matches on Fridays. I went to Poland with England Amputees last year and am going to Turkey this year. I’m a right-winger, and like to pretend I’m a bit of a Lionel Messi! There aren’t many players better than him.
It thinks it’s clever, that cancer, but it hasn’t beaten me.’
Today, as many people survive cancer as die from cancer. But there’s still much more to do.
Help more people survive, get your Cancer Research UK Unity Band right now for World Cancer Day – cruk.org/worldcancerday
http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/support-us/donate/world-cancer-day