Former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique reveals brain tumour treatment as he shares emotional message on Instagram
Former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique has revealed images of his treatment for a brain tumour while thanking fans for their support.
In May, the 32-year was diagnosed with chordoma, a rare type of tumour that usually occurs in the bones of the skull base and spine, but his was found behind the eye.
Upon learning of his diagnosis, he fearfully asked doctors: “Am I going to die tomorrow?”
But now Enrique, who played in the Premier League with both Newcastle and Liverpool, has posted images of his treatment on Instagram and the after effects.
The set of pictures included him undergoing proton therapy which helps to destroy the cancerous cells as he fights to recover from the rare condition, having undergone a nine-hour operation in Spain last June.
Appearing in good spirits, another picture shows Enrique smiling and pointing to a bald spot on the top of his head as a result of treatment with his partner Amy in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Along with the pictures, Enrique wrote a poignant and moving message to his supporters.
“Hello guys. First of all thanks so much for all the messages and your support, it has been amazing,” Enrique shared.
“I just wanted to share with all of you some pictures of what I have been doing for the last two months. It’s been difficult I’m not going to lie, not just for me but for my partner Amy and family but I really believe it has helped me in a way to find out about this and fight it because it makes you have other priorities in life.
“I just wanted to leave a message for the people that are going through bad times health wise or other problems. It doesn’t matter how big the problem is you can fight it and go through it.
“The most important thing is the way you take it and I have really surprised myself how I have reacted going through all of this. Don’t believe you can’t do something, it doesn’t matter how hard it is #WECAN.
“Thanks again for the lovely support.”
A knee injury forced him to retire at Real Zaragoza in 2017 and it was in London for a meeting with Brighton boss Chris Hughton when he was diagnosed with the tumour.
“I arrived at the hotel and I thought they were migraines. During the night I had a brutal headache. The next morning I started to have blurry (vision), then I started to see double, I had my eyes open and I saw double,” he said.
“I had to go to the emergency room and after nine hours there I had a CT scan. The test indicated that I had a vein and I was sent to St. George’s Hospital in London immediately, which specialises in Neurology, and I spent two nights there.
“They were the worst days of my life, I stayed in bed for five days without moving.”
The symptoms
Severe, non-stop headaches, seizures as well as nausea, vomiting and drowsiness
Vision or speech problems
Paralysis and changes to a person’s behaviour such as having difficulty remembering things
These symptoms can appear suddenly or develop slowly over time. Read more at Sun Health here.