Former Leeds United star Dominic Matteo.placeholder image
Former Leeds United star Dominic Matteo. | Simon Hulme
For years doctors believed Leeds United legend Dominic Matteo had lived his life with a tumour lying dormant in his head.
The 51-year-old was due to fly to Singapore to play for Liverpool in a veterans’ match against Manchester United in 2019.
But after a health check he collapsed in the MRI machine. He was later diagnosed with a rare, cancerous brain tumour called an anaplastic ependymoma.
Dominic underwent critical surgery at Leeds General Infirmary and several months of radiotherapy before getting the news that his condition was stable. He now has regular scans at the hospital to monitor his condition.
And today, on World Cancer Day, the former Leeds United captain has paid tribute to the life-saving team of clinical researchers in Leeds who care for him.
Former Leeds United star Dominic Matteo.placeholder image
Former Leeds United star Dominic Matteo. | Simon Hulme
The father-of-three said: “I try and be positive. When you get bad news, you just have to find a way to think positive and I think I got that positivity through football. When I was starting out, I had ability, but I put the work in even harder.
“My dad said it was all stepping stones to getting where I wanted to be, and I think that mindset that helped me in football is helping with my recovery.
"When I played football, I was always boisterous and noisy. You need to have more of a voice when you're the captain. After I retired, I bought a bar in Leeds.
“I'm completely out of that now. I love all that kind of stuff, but now I'm not good with big groups of people and I have to manage that and protect myself.
“After something like this, you can't quite do what you used to do, and it’s how you accept that. I always say, I'm lucky to still be here. I don't know what's around the corner, but I’ll just keep going. I'm taking one step at a time.”
His tribute comes as World Cancer Day is marked across the globe - an event which highlights how sustained scientific research, clinical trials and innovation directly impact survival and quality of life for people with cancer.
And it follows a government announcement of an increased focus on brain cancer and other rare cancers in its National Cancer Plan.
He spent four to five weeks in hospital and during that team he lost his sight in his right eye - and couldn’t even brush his teeth.
As part of his recovery, Dominic had to relearn to read and write - and credits support to the football community for helping him during his darkest days.
Leeds United captain Dominic Matteo celebrates with the fans after the 2-1 win over Manchester City.placeholder image
Leeds United captain Dominic Matteo celebrates with the fans after the 2-1 win over Manchester City. | YEP
He said: “I’ve had a lot of support through football. It’s a community. I got a lot of messages from fans who didn't like me – Man United fans! But they still messaged me to wish me well and that meant a lot.
“(Former Leeds United manager) David O'Leary and (Liverpool team-mate) Steve McManaman came to see me in hospital – the nurses were all excited to see Steve. And (Leeds United legend) Eddie Gray even got the bus up to the hospital to visit me.
“And now, when I'm at Elland Road, there's a lot of people in similar positions. I feel privileged I can speak to them.
“We have a different respect because of what we’re going through. You always want the best for each other. Down at Elland Road, people will say, ‘you're looking well!’ As blokes, it's not often something you say – back in the day you’d pretty much just grunt at each other. But I hope that the world is changing. You need people to look out for you.
“I’m six years on now. I have regular scans, and it’s not very nice in the MRI machine but I just think about my wife and kids when I’m in there to distract myself, because it has to be done. My last scan was stable, which is all I can ask for. Every time they are stable, I go and celebrate. I have a scan coming up soon and if it’s stable, I will be celebrating.
“Now I go all over the world telling my story. I want to share my story – if it helps one person then it’s worth it. And when you're busy, you don't think about things as much. And if I'm helping other people, I'm helping myself.”
Continue Reading