John Hartson - Critically Ill

[JP]

Not exactly the most famous of players I suppose but I saw this on the news on Monday morning and I was horrified by just how quickly it's got worse and worse since then.

He found out on Sunday that he had testicular cancer, Monday he was told that he had cancer of the brain and today they've told him that he's got lung cancer!

Former Wales, Arsenal and Celtic striker John Hartson has testicular cancer which has spread to his brain, it has been confirmed.

Dr Gianfilippo Bertelli, consultant medical oncologist for Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University NHS Trust, said Hartson had attended last Friday with symptoms consistent with testicular cancer.

"A number of clinical tests were put in place and these have confirmed the presence of testicular cancer," he said.
"Unfortunately, it has also been confirmed that this cancer has spread to Mr Hartson's brain.
"We are awaiting the results of further tests to establish a full picture of Mr Hartson's diagnosis."

BBC News

Former Wales, Arsenal and Celtic striker John Hartson is in a critical condition after emergency surgery on his brain following a cancer diagnosis.
At the weekend, 34-year-old Hartson was told he had testicular cancer.
The disease spread to his brain and on Wednesday, doctors confirmed it was also present in his lungs.

The father-of-three had undergone surgery at Morriston Hospital in Swansea, after being transferred from the city's Singleton Hospital.

BBC News

[icarus0]

He was on loan with us for 6 games in 2007 and was - how can I put this politely - not as good as he was when he was in his prime.

Its a terrible thing to happen, especially as its come on so quickly, and I wish him all the best.

[Herbalizer]

Its not looking good for the big man. He was applying to be our manager a few weeks ago and now this.

[prinnysquad]

Really bad this, a real horror followed by another. Just awful.

[wonderboy]

Yeah, really sad news. All this happening at his age, with a young family. Hopefully, he has some luck and the doctors help him some how..?

[Number45]

This is gutting news. As a West Ham fan he will always hold a special place in my heart for the fantastic couple of years he spent with us, my thoughts are with him and his family.

[Kieran76]

I have always had a great respect for Hartson, who was a good old fashioned centre forward who wore his heart on his sleeve. Working so close to Upton Park I spoke to a few West Hams last night and most of them looked shell-shocked. I just hope he makes a miracle recovery.

[mackemansj1]

Shame seemed down to earth and wears his heart on his sleeve, hope you pull through john.

[JP]

There seems to be a lot of respect for the big feller, supporters of teams that you'd expect to perhaps not really remember what he was like.

I think it's partly down to the fact that he just seemed an old school, no nonsense sort of bloke without looking like he wanted to be a TV celebrity. At least, that's what I like about him.

He's had messages from the American cyclist Lance Armstrong who was diagnosed with testicular, lung and brain cancer in the '90s and returned to win a load of competitions including the Tour de France. I know it's very different from case to case but the fact that people are able to come through things like this has to be a positive.

[EJG1980]

Really horrible news, all that happening to someone who's a mere 34 years old really makes your own sense of mortality hit home. Doesn't look good but hopefully he'll somehow make a recovery.

I remember David Howells playing in a match against the Hammers after his father was killed in a scaffolding accident. John Hartson was interviewed after the game and the first words out of his mouth were to send condolences to Howells and his family on behalf of himself and West Ham. Good bloke despite his wilder moments.

[topper]

You mean like kicking a team-mate in the head during training?

[Kieran76]

Stuff like that happens/happened all the time. People fight, just because it was caught on camera people pretend to be shocked and appalled. My mate told me the time he got let into the tunnell at Upton Park when he was kid and saw a recently substituted Billy Bonds kicking eight bells out of an opposistion player.

[EJG1980]

I've always thought that it's far too easy to take one incident from a footballer's life and use that to judge their entire character.

[JP]

Although Hartson has always said what he did was wrong, Berkovic probably deserved it due to punching him when he tried to help him up.

Berkovic was reported to have punched his team mates during training on a few times after having tantrums. Sooner or later, somebody was bound to turn on him and he just ended up punching the wrong feller.

He bought it on himself and fair play to Hartson for dealing with it.


Anyway according to Hartson's Doctor, he's handling it as well as is possible and is in a a stable condition.

[Holio]

I was going to praise him for kicking Eyal Berkovic in the mouth, one of the best things he did at West Ham, along with keeping us up one season alongside Paul Kitson. Dean Ashton has all the same attributes as Hartson, just hope he can have one season of 20 plus games now.

Get well soon John, thoughts with you and your family.