Cancer has no respect for who it takes. Whether rich or poor, old or young, it makes no difference. Today, Sir Bobby Robson lost his final battle and, at the age of 76, died, having beaten cancer four times in the past. The fifth attack took his life.
Why should I care about a football manager? Not because of the football. Not because he was, as our local newspaper says, "a local lad". Rather, because he fought cancer, he inspired others to fight. He showed that a cancer diagnosis doesn't have to ruin your life. Even in his last illness, he demonstrated strength of spirit and a joy in life that belied the fact that this time it was terminal. And he raised a huge amount of money for cancer research in the local area. There's an entire wing of the cancer unit in a hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne that's named after him: The Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Research Trials Unit. I was in that unit only two weeks ago - it's next to the unit I attend when I make my hospital visits. It will be Sir Bobby's legacy to the north-east of England and to the rest of the world; a state of the art cancer research facility. He did what survivors want to do; he gave something back.
RIP Sir Bobby. Sleep well now. You deserve your rest.
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