Joe Thompson shares news of his third cancer diagnosis and his mission to help future generations

Despite playing for Rochdale and Tranmere, among other teams, Joe sees professional football as only a part of his identity, prioritising being a good man over everything else.

“If I can find a root cause then, wow, that becomes a real legacy piece for me,” he says.

“I never wanted to be known as a great or a good footballer. That was always a part of my life. But if you ask me, do I want to be known as a great man? Now we are talking.

“It’s about finding a test that is accurate enough for the root cause and I am like the guinea pig. If we get it right with me, it will get rolled out to more and it will be developed and there will be trials. If we get that, we have really opened up a huge key for not only me, but more importantly, people all around the world. 

“I am always looking at the next generation, so it’s huge and it is going to mean that we need to raise some funds. If we get that sorted and nailed, we are on to something huge.”

Manchester United is a family club; you never stop being a Red.

“You have fought it before and you will fight it again,” concludes Zarah. “I hope you have that in your head every day that we are all here for you.”

We are all rooting for you, Joe.

To learn more about Joe’s story, and to donate, visit his Go Fund Me Page. 

You can also follow Joe’s story on Instagram and X via the handle @IAmJoeThompson.