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| December 24, 2002 | Tuesday | Shawwal 19, 1423 |
Boycott given good odds to defeat cancer
LONDON, Dec 23: Former England cricketer Geoff Boycott has been told by doctors that he has a good chance of beating cancer following three months of treatment.
Boycott, one of the greatest opening batsmen in Test history, was diagnosed with cancer in his neck in September and has since undergone chemotherapy and radiotherapy at a hospital in Leeds, Yorkshire.
“There were four lots of chemotherapy and then I began the radiotherapy on Oct 22,” Boycott was quoted as saying in Monday’s Yorkshire Post.
“I asked her (the oncologist) what the prognosis was and she was very positive, very relaxed. Of course there are no guarantees in this situation, but she says I have a good chance and I’ll be fighting it.”
“I have to take a month’s rest now and I’m seeing her (the oncologist) again in the middle of January.”
The treatment has left Boycott over 12 kilograms lighter and unable to eat solid food, the newspaper reported.
“It is the treatment that takes so much out of me. The side-effects are terrible — burns in the neck and chest,” the 62-year-old said.
“As the radiography slowly takes then burning starts on your neck and throat and tongue. Now I can’t bear having anything on my mouth or tongue.”
Boycott, who made his debut for England against Australia in 1964, scored 8,114 Test runs at an average of 47.42 in a 108-match career spanning three decades.
He scored 22 Test centuries and 42 half-centuries. He also hit 151 hundreds in first-class cricket.
The only player to average in excess of 100 in two English seasons, Boycott also carries the distinction of receiving the first ever ball bowled in international one-day cricket.
Widely regarded as one of the most astute analysts of the game, the controversial Yorkshireman has spawned admirers and critics in equal measure.—Reuters
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