Rejuvenated Sheedy looks on the bright side after cancer fight

If ever someone diagnosed with cancer can consider themselves lucky, then maybe that man is former Ireland international Kevin Sheedy.

In May of last year, he had a bowel tumour removed, the surgery so successful that Sheedy didn’t require any radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

Within just three months of his diagnosis, he was back at work as coach of Everton’s U18 team and, looking hale and hearty on a visit to Dublin this week, confirmed he “feels fantastic”.

And the lucky part?

“Well, a bit of luck and me acting early,” he explained. “There was a radio campaign about bowel cancer and, how, if your poo is loose and passing blood, then go to the GP. I was there on the loo one day thinking, ‘that’s me, there’s something up’. I went straight to my doctor and fortunately he detected it. It’s scary when you are told it but everything went well in the operation and the tests have been passed clear.”

Sheedy is now active in promoting awareness of bowel cancer, including doing work for the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research.

With that in mind, he makes a point of stressing that, until he noticed he was passing some blood, he had experienced no other symptoms.

“Nothing at all. The surgeon said I probably had it from around nine years ago, which I couldn’t get my head around because I didn’t have any symptoms at all, apart from on the toilet which was only a short period of time. There was no weight loss, tiredness, nothing. If I hadn’t acted on my symptoms, I would have died from it.

“90% of people who are detected early are successful in recovering. It’s mainly men who bury their heads in the sand and think it will go away, which it never does. Sometimes, when they do go, it’s too late. Early detection saves your life. Otherwise you die of embarrassment because you didn’t go to your GP.”

Sadly, of course, not everyone who develops bowel cancer is as fortunate as Sheedy. He mentions that Stephanie Moore, wife of England legend Bobby, told him that her husband had initially been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome. “And by the time they realised what it was, it was too late...”

A reminder that Sheedy is now 53 comes with the recollection that, in only his second game as a pro, he played for then Second Division Hereford United in a 4-1 loss at Craven Cottage to the celebrated 1976 Fulham dream team of Moore, George Best and Rodney Marsh.

“My first incident in the game was to foul him (Moore),” he grins. “I started on the bench and spent most of the time watching Angie Best who was taking photos on the sideline. Then a lad got injured and it was tracksuit off and I was straight in. To be on the same pitch as George Best was brilliant, he was one of my heroes.”

Another colourful memory from the man who ensured his Irish immortality by scoring the equalising goal against England in Italia ‘90 concerns a card game with Jack Charlton which almost cost the player dearly in the Euro ‘88 game against the English in Stuttgart.

“He named me sub but I nearly didn’t make the bench,” Kevin reveals. “We were playing a game called Hearts on the bus on the way to the game, and Jack was the leader. The aim is to get hearts on the leader and the Queen of Spades is like, 50 points, Jack was leading, I put the Queen of Spades on him and he was like, ‘Pick that up you little twat or else you won’t be sub’. But I didn’t (pick it up). I was determined. So I got to the game and I didn’t know whether I was going to be a sub or not until the teamsheet went in. I ended up getting on anyway. But that was Jack.”