Men's Assistant Manager Paul Raynor has shared the following...
Hello everyone,
I think it’s important to let everyone know exactly what has been going on. There has been a lot of speculation on social media since the gaffer mentioned my health issues that I’m going through, and I want to put a bit more detail on things and give a bit of a timescale around what’s happening.
It’s bowel cancer. I’m going to deal with it. I’m being positive but, as I say, there’s going to be a long road of treatment ahead.
On Tuesday I had my first meeting and CT scan, and had the tattoos put where the lasers are going to go, and that was a little bit daunting. But everyone has been so positive. The consultants and the Macmillan nurses have been amazing, and the support I’ve had on social media from players, ex-players, and everyone around the Club has been fantastic. That helps to keep you positive and, obviously it’s been a bit of a daunting time, but we’re staying positive and going full steam ahead.
We’re going to try and beat this; we will beat this and then be back on the grass helping the guys later in the season with a bit of luck. The plan is I’m going to be here as much as possible. I’m going to be there on matchdays, and I aim to be and I want to be. If I’m well enough, I certainly will be.
There’s also a bit of a wider message for me to share too and that’s around getting tested. It was literally for me, for want of better terminology, a poo sample through the post. I’m a typical man, and I left it, and my missus was badgering me into doing it. So I did it and a week later – about three weeks ago – I was told there was an abnormal reading, and I had to go in for full check. Within an hour, I was sat with a consultant and being told they had found a tumour. From there, it’s been a process of different scans and moving forward.
That was three weeks ago and now we have a clearer idea of what things look like in terms of dates. On Monday 12 October I will start chemotherapy and radiotherapy for five weeks across Monday to Fridays. That will mean my involvement in training sessions will be very limited. I will try to be around as much as possible and I should be about on matchdays, assuming I feel well enough to do so during my treatment.
We will then move on to three months of intravenous chemotherapy every two weeks. It’s going to be a five-to-six-month process in terms of radiotherapy and chemotherapy and then depending on how that goes, there might be an operation as well. It’s going to be a six-or seven-month long process but the good news is they’re telling me that the chances of success are high. The cancer hasn’t spread elsewhere to any major organs either, which is a massive positive, but it’s obviously a long road ahead in terms of treatment.
What I do want to say is that every single person at Bristol Rovers has been absolutely incredible. The Chairman, Abdullatif, the board, everyone behind the scenes, and of course the gaffer as well. I’ve worked with and known Steve for 25 years and he’s always been a massive friend, but the last few weeks he has been absolutely immense. And, of course, my family and the Bristol Rovers supporters too. We were in the Thatchers Bar on Saturday and everyone was wishing me well and asking about me, and that meant a lot.
They’re telling me there is a good chance it’s curable but the ramifications if I hadn’t have done that sample, it could have been a lot, lot worse. The message from me is get your samples done because it’s massively important.
Thank you, and Up The Gas!
Paul
