Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker has spoken of the harrowing time he and his family went through during his son George's battle with leukaemia.
Speaking to The Mirror, the former Barcelona striker revealed that while his son was in remission, even all the way up to the age of 20, he feared that the disease could return.
George Lineker was first diagnosed with blood cancer leukaemia at just two months old. He spent seven of the first nine months of his life at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.
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Gary explained that George's mother Michelle slept with him the whole time, while Gary came every day after training.
The Lineker family are now back at the hospital, kickstarting the 'FINISH IT' campaign. The new initiative seeks to raise £10 million for a new National Children's Blood Cancer Trials Network.
"We feel indebted to charities that raise money to get research that enabled George to have the life he has had because without that amount of research and people putting money in that research he wouldn’t be in that position today." explained Gary.
“It always gets to me, sitting there watching a parent sitting next to their child knowing it’s touch-and-go, it’s hard.”
“But you smile, it’s lovely to take George in, he’s 30 years old and he was given very, very little chance and here he is."
When George eventually left Great Ormond Street, the hospital kept tabs on him during remission, and all the way into adulthood. He didn't actually stop his visits until he was in his late teens, for "research purposes" Gary explained.
However, despite George coming out of the light at the end of the tunnel, father Gary explained that he was always still fearful that one day it could return.
"Part of having something like leukaemia, or other cancers, is that the disease can come back after treatment."
"Always in that period - George is our eldest but we had three other kids as well - when they get colds or don’t feel well or get a poorly tummy or a sore throat you don’t think anything of it but for George, for those few years after treatment, every time he had a cold or anything, you think: ‘He’s not is he?"
The 'FINISH IT' campaign encourages football fans to buy a £14 virtual seat in a 250,000 capacity stadium. Every 14 minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with blood cancer, and a quarter of a million people currently live with it.
The football community has been asked to put their rivalries aside to come together to help fight the disease, you can contribute here.
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