'Get checked' - Ex-footballer Darren Oxbrow's message after diagnosis

Darren Oxbrow started his career at Ipswich Town and remains a fan of the club

A former professional footballer diagnosed with blood cancer has urged people to get checked if they spot unusual symptoms.

Darren Oxbrow, 54, formerly of Ipswich Town, Maidstone United and Colchester United, found out he had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2022.

Mr Oxbrow said feeling "not himself" on holiday was the first time he realised something was wrong.

He said: "Men need to admit when there's something not quite right."

Mr Oxbrow, who now works for Suffolk Youth Justice Service, urged others to "make a call" in that situation.

"You know if you don't feel 100% - you know there's something not quite right," he said.

"That's when you need to go and get that help."

Mr Oxbrow said it was "difficult" explaining to colleagues at Suffolk Youth Justice Service why he was losing weight, which was as a result of his cancer

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of cancer that forms in the lymphatic system.

He said: "You never expect it to happen to yourself, especially being fit and healthy all my life and having no problems at all.

"All of a sudden you get hit by something like this."

Mr Oxbrow (third from right) made 85 football league appearances for Maidstone United, which remains a Stones record

The former central defender, who also played for Kettering Town and Barnet, underwent numerous checks.

• The Blues, the Stones and the thin blue line

"I was short of energy but couldn't put a finger on it," he said. "I just didn't feel myself and, when you have lived in your body for 50 years, you know when something is different."

He was referred to Ipswich Hospital's Woolverstone Unit and diagnosed with the incurable cancer.

'Days before Christmas'

"Me and my wife got the news and that was that was given to us three days before Christmas. It was devastating. When you first hear it: 'You've got blood cancer and you'll have it for life.'

"It's just hearing that word, and then all these things go through your head. What is the impact? How bad is it? What is the cancer going to do to me?

"The process of having to tell my family and loved ones. It was a huge thing to have to relate to my all my children. Having to tell them their father's gonna be poorly for a while was so hard."

Mr Oxbrow, who has children Ellen, Will, Lucy and Jemima with wife Kate, said the "fighting spirit" developed during his football career helped him cope.

Mr Oxbrow said a support network was "really important" and his family had been a "huge support throughout"

"I've always been a bit of a fighter and determined - and I think that that holds you in good stead," he said.

"Attitude and positivity does make a big difference. I've tried to be as positive as possible all the way through this process."

Mr Oxbrow is encouraging others to get checks should they notice a change in their bodies

Mr Oxbrow underwent chemotherapy from September to February and said he was making a "good recovery".

A raffle has been arranged of a signed Ipswich Town shirt to raise money for the Woolverstone Unit, which Mr Oxbrow described as "incredible".

Mr Oxbrow, whose eight-year professional career began at the Suffolk club in 1988, said he remained a big Ipswich Town supporter.

He said the club's success this season had made a "huge difference".

Oxbrow (back row, third from right) played for Ipswich Town's youth team before graduating to the reserves

"Even my consultant is a massive Ipswich Town fan," he said.

"When I was talking to him about my treatments, we'd discuss Town. It touches all areas. Ipswich Town is so important to this town.

"Imagine saying 10 years ago that we'd be sitting here now [top of the Championship], with a full house every game.

"The atmosphere is absolutely electric. It is incredible."