Blog：The disease that stalked Sir Bobby
Former England manager Sir Bobby Robson, who has died at the age of 76, was diagnosed with cancer five times. It is a scenario that most of us – even the one in three of us who develop the disease – are unlikely to face.
Sir Bobby is reported to have responded indignantly when he was first told in 1992 that a “little bit of cancer” in his bowel would take him away from PSV Eindhoven for three months.
It was taken out and the manager got back to business.
The fear for most would be a recurrence of the original cancer, or the news that it might have spread. But three years later, an entirely new form of the disease made an appearance – and a rare one at that.
Malignant melanoma in Sir Bobby’s face was found by a specialist after he had complained about blocked sinuses. A very rare and dangerous form of cancer, he was told he would be “dead by the end of the season” if something was not done straight away.
