Bob Champion, the former jump jockey who won the 1981 Grand National on Aldiniti after surviving testicular cancer, has revealed he is now undergoing treatment for bladder cancer. The 78-year-old told Mirror Racing: "I was a little bit upset when I found out about it but we're on top of it, which is the main thing."
Early Detection and Treatment
Champion, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer 18 months before his Aintree victory and given months to live when the disease spread to his lungs, said this time the symptoms were picked up early. "At least I had been seen before it got too bad," he said. "I don't know about being tough though, I don't like it."
He has been undergoing chemotherapy for the past six months, with treatment sessions that leave him tired but recovering quickly. "I am able to get out and about. I was knackered last night after treatment but I am better today and will be a lot better tomorrow," he added.
The Bob Champion Cancer Trust
In 1983, Champion established the Bob Champion Cancer Trust to support research into all forms of cancer, particularly prostate cancer, at centres in London and Norwich. To date, more than £17 million has been raised. He was made a CBE in the 2021 New Year's Honours List for services to prostate and testicular cancer research.
On Monday, he attended the latest fundraiser when Plumpton hosted the Bob Champion Cancer Trust Race Day. "We mostly look into prostate cancer, which is the biggest cancer in men," he said. "We have one research centre in the Royal Marsden in London and one in Norwich Science Park. We fund them and thankfully the scientists are coming up with the goods. One in three people get cancer now and live to a fair age."
Advances in Treatment
Champion reflected on how cancer treatment has improved since his own battle in the early 1980s. "This treatment is nothing like when I had testicular cancer. That then was bad. Science and research has done such a great job that the treatment is a lot better, less toxic and there are less side effects," he said.
"If I had to have the treatment I went through when I had testicular cancer, I don't think I'd have gone for it. It was bad in those days." He added: "You haven't got rid of me yet."
