Bournemouth's David Brooks tells of cancer battle as he supports Race for Life
AFC Bournemouth and Welsh international midfielder David Brooks has opened up about his battle with cancer for the first time, as he pledges his support for Race for Life.
After 18 months of treatment, recovery and training, the 25-year-old has reclaimed his spot in The Cherries’ squad and has spoken in-depth about his Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis.
David said: “Football was my life for 24 years before I was diagnosed and for a brief moment, in the grand scheme of things, football didn’t matter. It was about my health and my mentality.“
"But to be able to play football again is a real blessing."
It was at the Euros in 2021, when David explained during a medical check that he wasn't putting on any weight, struggling to sleep and had experienced night sweats.
A blood test and a biopsy in London later revealed he had stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma.
"You almost don’t want to believe it. When you hear the word ‘cancer’ as a young lad you don’t expect yourself to be in that position where you need to know everything about it, unless you’ve had a relative that has gone through that process.
"The worst pops into your head because as soon as you hear the word ‘cancer’ you don’t think it can be positive in anyway and you look at the bad side of it. It was a difficult one to try to process.
"I’d have the chemo, feel horrendous for a week, start to feel a bit better, then as soon as you start to feel well enough to leave the house, you have to go back and do it all again.
"It was a very different type of life to what I’m used to.
"My girlfriend used to come to every chemo and I remember just trying to fall asleep so I wouldn’t be sick. I didn’t want to be ill so I’d have all the anti-sickness and drowsiness pills to help me deal with it.
"My girlfriend was amazing. No-one wants to find themselves in that situation and she’s probably seen the worst of me with all the side effects of chemo, but I can’t speak highly enough of her.”
On the day Bournemouth secured promotion back to the Premier League, David announced to his fans that his treatment had been successful and he was cancer free.
He was met with a standing ovation from the crowd and was ready to face another challenge - to get himself fit enough for football’s top flight.
David said: “There were a few tears in the house when they told me. I was just over the moon that it had worked and I didn’t have to go through it any more.
“When we were promoted, I celebrated for 10-15 mins and had to go and sit down because I was completely out of breath. It was a reality check.
"Then when I went back to work, I just really enjoyed being back in the changing room again never mind playing a Premier League game.“
David now hopes to take part in Race for Life in Bournemouth and Poole to support the research that helped him get back on the pitch.
Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life, in partnership with headline sponsor Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, is an inspiring series of 3k, 5k, 10k, Pretty Muddy and Pretty Muddy Kids events which raise millions of pounds every year to help beat cancer by funding crucial research.
This is the 30th year of Race for Life and participants will receive an exclusive medal to mark the milestone.