Former Rangers and Scotland goalkeeper Andy Goram says he’ll “fight like I’ve never fought before” after being given six months to live following a terminal cancer diagnosis.
Goram started feeling unwell seven weeks ago but he ignored the symptoms he had after he couldn’t secure a face-to-face meeting with his GP.
“I thought I had severe indigestion” he said via the Daily Record. “It was as though my gullet was blocked. After a few weeks, it got worse and nothing was getting through.
“Everything I ate or drank didn’t get halfway to my stomach and I threw it back up. I couldn’t get a face-to-face with my GP for two weeks, by which time I was in total agony. I’d also lost 4st in four weeks.”
Goram, who won the Scottish Premier Division five times with Rangers, said the reality of his situation set in when doctors said his level 4 oesophageal cancer couldn’t be operated on.
He said: “The surgeon explained where all the cancer was and it was inoperable. Danny [his son] broke down while I was trying to assess the situation. The word ‘inoperable’ hit me hard. I knew I was in for a fight.”
Doctors told him chemotherapy could prolong his life by three months but the Rangers legend turned down treatment. He couldn’t see why he would put himself in agony with a worse quality of life for just an extra three months.
A comfort for him is he is still managing to see friends and family as the pain he experiences is manageable.
He added: “I’ll be here as long as I possibly can. The only difference is the timebomb ticking away.”
