Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Ex-Diamond ace in cancer fight
Daughter fundraising for former defender Paul Jack
The daughter of Airdrie footballing legend Paul Jack has said she has “never been more proud of someone” as the brave dad-of-two battles a rare and incurable cancer.
The 52-year-old former Diamonds star and assistant manager, affectionately known as “Lumber” by the Broomfield fans, has been diagnosed with a form of cancer known as waldenstrom macroglobulinemia.
The Airdrie Hall of Fame inductee is currently undergoing chemotherapy, and 24- year- old daughter Megan admits she couldn’t believe the news after enduring an emotionally draining 2016 when she lost two grandparents and an uncle.
But she said Paul has been inspirational in his attitude to the shock diagnosis.
“We found out about dad’s rare form of cancer last January. It was just after new year as well,” she told the Advertiser.
“I remember the heart sinking feeling in my stomach when I was told this.
“We’d had such a rough year in 2016 as we lost both my papa and grandpa to a stroke and bowel cancer, and also my uncle to a heart attack in the space of just three months.
“I remember thinking to myself, ‘surely this is a joke, no way could life be so cruel and do this to my family again, let alone it being my dad’.
“But my dad is just unbelievable, I can’t get over how well he’s coped with this and spoken out about it.
“I have never been as proud of anyone. He’s a great role model because he is a man who likes looking after others and making sure everyone else is coping.”
Megan continued: “He has been brilliant, he still gets up every day and faces it head on and I think that is the best thing he could do.
“He’s halfway through his treatment now, so of course we can start to notice a difference in his health. But for someone undergoing chemotherapy he is doing amazingly well.
“He has good and bad days, as I’m sure most cancer patients do.
“He can get up and be fine, a bit tired after a while, but he can still do things and then he could wake up the next day and it be a day he needs to spend in his bed. It all just depends.”
Megan has also praised Airdrieonians fans for their immediate support of the defender – who was a mainstay of the squad in the 90s.
She explained: “The support has been phenomenal and I can’t thank the club enough either.
“They told me he was an absolute pleasure when he played for them and they still look up to him.
“My dad has and always will be supported by the fans of Airdrie, he still passes people in the streets and they know who he is.
“I don’t think he realised how well supported he would be and I’m so glad he can now see.”
To mark her dad’s battle with illness, Megan will face her fears and perform a charity skydive for Cancer Research.
Her initial goal of £800 has already been doubled.
“My biggest fear is heights”, admitted Megan. “And also jumping out a plane is my worst nightmare.
“But my outlook now is that if my dad can get up every morning and face his fear,then I can get up off my backside and jump out a plane – especially for such a good cause.”
A spokesman for Airdrieonians added: “We were saddened to hear of Paul’s illness and wish him well as he undergoes his treatment.
“Paul was a stalwart in the side throughout the 90s and a cult hero to many.
“And as he is one of our own we are only too happy to assist his daughter Megan’s efforts to raise monies and awareness of this rare form of cancer.”
To donate to Megan’s cause visit fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org
I have never been as proud of anyone. He’s a great role model