In March 2017, however, he confirmed the cancer had returned after a tumour was found on his chest.
Former Rochdale footballer joe Thompson has revealed he’s fighting cancer for a third time.
Dale favourite Joe, a former Manchester United youth player who also turned out for Tranmere Rovers and Bury, beat nodular sclerosis Hodgkin lymphoma in 2014 after six months of chemotherapy.
He stopped 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.
Now married dad Joe, a radio presenter, has revealed he’s been diagnosed with cancer again, telling BBC Radio Manchester today of the moment he told his eldest daughter with his wife.
The 35-year-old stated: “It’s not ideal that the cancer has returned for a third time. It has returned with considerable vigour, indicating stage four Hodgkin lymphoma.
The only thing that seems to be going for me is that this cancer is the same as the one I had before. This time, the problem is that it’s reached my lungs.
“Therefore, breathing certainly becomes problematic, and falling asleep can be challenging. And sometimes it can be difficult to just talk.”
Joe described discovering a bump in his neck.
“I always check and have a little feel around certain areas,” he stated.
“And I just noticed that on the right hand side of my neck there was one large lymph node. I obviously spoke to my wife Chantelle and was like ‘oh no, have we got to walk this road again’.”
The father-of-two said telling his eldest daughter with his wife ‘was one of the most difficult conversations ever’.
“She simply fled back into the bedroom once we informed her. And her response was, “No, no, no.” It’s an illusion. It is a bad dream.
When she returns, what can we say to her because this isn’t a nightmare? Life is what it is.”
Joe will always be remembered at Spotland for his incredible goal against Charlton Athletic in May 2018, which sent rivals Oldham Athletic to League Two and kept Rochdale in League One. Joe stated that goal “meant the world to me.”
Prior to agreeing to a professional contract, he made his debut in May 2006 and went on to make 182 appearances for Rochdale, scoring 19 goals. He retired in 2019.
Since Joe disclosed his diagnosis, messages of support for him and his family have been pouring in.
It was really painful to witness Joe Thompson suffer from cancer for the third time. A Dale admirer said, “Life can be cruel,” on X, the defunct Twitter platform.
“Just know Joe, every Dale fan and the wider football community is behind you.”
