They may play against each other on the field, but when it comes to the health and wellness of one of their own, the AFL community clearly sticks together.
Three weeks since Jesse Hogan’s father Tony passed away after a long battle with cancer, Melbourne the Melbourne Demons player has been diagnosed with testicular cancer himself.
According to reports, Jesse will be taking indefinite leave from the club as he recovers from surgery.
This isn’t the first time a cancer scare has rocked the AFL community, with Hawthorn’s Jarryd Roughead having battled melanoma since May last year.
In June, “Roughy” had been dealt the shocking blow that his melanoma had returned and had spread to his lungs. He began what was supposed to be a 12-month course of immunotherapy to kill the cancer, and now, just six months later, doctors have given him the all clear.
And it is Jesse’s diagnosis that has caused Roughy to reflect on the time he, too, had cancer…
“It brings back memories and emotions of what happened in the past 12 months,” he says, as reported by The Age.
“[Hogan is] a huge talent among the game and you want to see these blokes out on the park. You don’t want to see blokes have to go through this.”
He then goes on to describe the time when he was finally told by doctors that he was finally free of the melanoma he had come up against for just over a year.
“When you hear something like this, it just flattens you,” he continues.
“As I said when I went through it, this is something where you know you’ve got the whole support, it’s not like the weekend where you’ve got opposition sides, you know you’ve got everyone in your corner.”
“So, knowing that he’s got the support of not just the footy world but also the public, that everyone is on his side, it gets you through.
Just last month, 22-year-old Jesse travelled to Perth to deal with a “family issue”. Weeks later, and his dad sadly laid to rest, Jesse, himself, underwent an ultrasound, which, as a statement from the Melbourne Demons reads, revealed a small mass in his testicle suggestive of a seminoma – a type of cancer.
During a press conference yesterday, Melbourne Football manager Josh Mahony said that the cancer was found in its earlier stages and it looks like Jesse won’t need chemotherapy.
“He is a very resilient character and with the support of the club, he will play some footy this year,” Mr Mahoney explains, stating that the club doctor said that Jesse may be able to return to playing football as early as in four-eight weeks’ time.
The Melbourne Football Club says, “All we can do is support Jesse’s family as best we can”, adding that while it was “obviously a shock for Jesse” he is “really positive”.
Here’s wishing Jesse a speedy recovery and that he is soon given the all-clear, too…
