West Ham icon Ludek Miklosko has revealed that he has been battling cancer for the last few years, but now stopped treatment.
The Czech star, 63, played for the Hammers between 1990 and 1998, making 218 appearances, and he also played for QPR in England.
In total, he made nearly 400 career appearances before retiring in 2001, returning to West Ham as a goalkeeper coach when he hung up his gloves – a role he left in 2010.
Since, he has moved back to the Czech Republic and has worked for a sports investment agency and currently serves as Sporting Director at Banik Ostravathough, though he has now revealed the heartbreaking news.
‘Ludo’, as he was nicknamed by West Ham fans, is in attendance at the London Stadium for his former side’s game against Liverpool on Sunday, has revealed that he has been battling cancer for three years.
He has also revealed that he has withdrawn from treatment to enjoy the highest-quality life for as long as possible, as detailed on the West Ham website.
Ludek Miklosko, 63, has revealed that he has been battling cancer for the last three years
He also detailed how he has stopped treatment in order to ‘live a normal life for as long as I can’
‘At the moment, I am feeling well,’ he said. ‘Lots of friends have said to me that, if they didn’t know what I was going through, they would think that I was fine, which is nice for me to hear, because I want to feel like that for as long as possible.
‘I am still working, I can be with the players and the people, and my life at the moment is very busy. I am trying to keep it that way – I want to be busy and be active, and be around football as much as I can, because that is what I love.’
He went onto reveal that his diagnosis came about when he found a lump on his hip, with check-ups after surgery focusing on the hip but the cancer had spread to other areas of his body.
‘That was the problem, because it turned out there was another tumour in the stomach, which was growing. I had started to suffer some pain and some problems while on holiday last year and had to be rushed to hospital from the airport as soon as I landed back in the Czech Republic.
‘The following day they did some tests and discovered that I had a big tumour in my stomach, too big to operate on and also in an area that was too dangerous,’ he added. ‘I had some radiotherapy, which helped to make it a bit smaller, and we spoke to specialists all around the world about what other options there might be.
‘I had an exploratory operation to see if there might be a chance to remove the tumour, but it was impossible and I would not have survived the surgery. After that, it was just a case of trying to control it and seeing if it would grow, or if any other areas were affected.’
Doctors found more tumours, and the only option for treatment was chemotherapy.
It was then that he decided not to undergo any further treatment, and he explained why as he addressed the West Ham fans.
The former goalkeeper will take to the field to greet fans ahead of West Ham’s game against Liverpool on Sunday
‘I was thinking about this, and had another conversation with the doctor in Ostrava, and it was made clear to me that there could be no guarantees that it would work,’ he said. ‘Maybe it would help to slow it down a little bit, but it would not stop it and there would be other issues to deal with.
‘I decided not to take the chemotherapy, because I want to live a normal life. I have very good people around me, and I have my work and my football, which is my life, all I have known. I want to keep doing that for as long as I can.’
He went onto thank Hammers supporters for their support since he played for the club, and will be presented onto the field before the clash with Liverpool.
West Ham said: ‘The entire West Ham United family is with Ludek at this time, and we encourage everyone attending today’s game to be in their seats ten minutes before kick-off to give him the reception and love that he so greatly deserves.’
