Brave former Dale player facing new cancer battle
Joe aims to raise £250,000 for treatment and vital test
FORMER Rochdale footballer and Manchester United TV pundit Joe Thompson and his family are raising funds for pioneering new cancer treatment after his third diagnosis.
The Dale favourite, a former United youth player, revealed this week he’s been diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin lymphoma that has spread to his lungs.
It’s the married fatherof-two’s third cancer diagnosis in 11 years.
Joe, 35, has twice beaten cancer to return to football - and has spoken of his determination to beat it once again.
As messages of support flood in from the world of football, he revealed he aims to raise £250,000 to ‘cover the costs of my ongoing treatment and to pioneer a ground-breaking test that could prevent the recurrence of not only my cancer but potentially save countless lives in the future’.
A Gofundme Appeal has now been launched.
In it, Joe said he’s been working with oncologists and scientists, self-funding research in a bid to uncover the ‘root cause’ of his recurring illness.
The cancer, he said, has ‘returned with a vengeance’.
Joe and his family wrote: “We aim to raise £250,000 to cover the costs of my ongoing treatment and to pioneer a groundbreaking test that could prevent the recurrence of not only my cancer but potentially save countless lives in the future.
“As a family we have self-funded the treatment and worked with the scientists so far with our own savings, near on six figures, but we still have a long way to go and would not have the opportunity to continue with the research and treatment without your support.
“Your generosity can make a world of difference.
“Any amount you can contribute will be deeply valued and will bring us closer to a future where no family has to endure this struggle alone.” Writing on X, formerly Twitter, after revealing his diagnosis on BBC Radio Manchester, he said: “Its true I have cancer for the third time.
“But we’ve walked through darkness as a family before and we will do it again!
“I need you all to rise up. Anything received is with heart full of gratitude.”
In a social media post, his old club Rochdale shared the appeal and wrote: “We’re all absolutely devastated to hear this news from our Joe.
“You’ve beaten it twice before, you will do it again.
“We’re with you every step of the way. His name is Joey Thompson.”
Manchester United, meanwhile, said the club sends the Thompson family all its love and support, adding: “We’ll be with you every step of the way, Joe.”
The footballer, who retired in 2019 and also turned out for Bury, Tranmere Rovers and Wrexham, beat nodular sclerosis Hodgkin lymphoma in 2014 after six months of chemotherapy following a diagnosis in 2013.
At Christmas in 2016, however, he confirmed the cancer had returned after a tumour was found on his chest.
He stopped
“We’ve walked through darkness as a family before and we will do it again.”
playing
while he underwent more treatment - including a stem cell transplant - and was told he was in complete remission again after fighting back, returning to football and Rochdale in December 2017.
At Spotland, Joe will always be remembered for his fairytale strike against Charlton Athletic
in May 2018, which kept Rochdale in League One and sent rivals Oldham Athletic down to League Two - a goal he said ‘meant the world to me’.
He made his debut in May 2006 before signing professional terms and in total, made 182 appearances for Rochdale, scoring 19 goals.