Cancer-battling teen keen to hit the field
A football-loving Taranaki teen who battled cancer through lockdown is confident he can soon return to the soccer pitch.
Gregor Forrest, whose football club hosted a 24-hour tournament to raise money for him, went to training this week for the first time since finishing his treatment.
The 17-year-old was diagnosed with stage four hodgkin’s lymphoma in October and has been undergoing chemotherapy ever since.
In that time, he’s been unable to play the game he loves, though he admits to slipping in a few kicks here and there.
Which is why Tuesday’s training made him ‘‘absolutely’’ look forward to his next real game.
‘‘It was good, I loved it,’’ Gregor said. ‘‘But at times it was tough.’’
Due to Covid-19 restrictions Gregor had to complete his final chemotherapy sessions alone, which he didn’t mind, but they made him quite exhausted and sick.
‘‘I’m feeling way better, I have more energy now than before.’’
Gregor finished treatment in late April and now he and parents Kym and Bruce Forrest are waiting on another CT scan and a meeting with the oncologist next month.
‘‘Only time’s going to tell,’’
Kym said.
But it’s looking up – previous scans had showed up clear, she said.
‘‘So far it’s looking like the best outcome we could have hoped for.’’
The 24-hour tournament fundraiser, hosted by the New Plymouth Rangers AFC in January,
raised more than $7000 but because Gregor won’t need it all he is planning to donate some to charity.
The Francis Douglas Memorial College student is still off school as he may be ‘‘more susceptible’’ to sickness, and during lockdown the family kept a very ‘‘pretty small bubble’’.
‘‘It was potentially life threatening for him,’’ Kym said.
And now Gregor is waiting for his first post-lockdown hair cut. Unlike so many others he did not lose his hair during chemotherapy.