Australian Football League (AFL) great Anthony Rocca has shockingly revealed that he has been diagnosed with cancer. The 46-year-old, according to reports in Australian media, shared that he suffered from severe back pain for several weeks and which prompted him to visit a doctor for a checkup, leading to this revelation. The current Northern Knights head coach subsequently underwent several tests, which eventually led him to be diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. As a result of this diagnosis, Rocca is going to step down from his role as Northern Knights' coach in the AFL to undergo chemotherapy. Cricket Australia Announces Record-breaking Surge in Ticket Sales from India for Border-Gavaskar Trophy Series.

Fortunately, the goalkicking great also said that his cancer was 'very treatable'. I’ll beat this. No one likes the dreaded ‘c’ word, it is even hard for me to say it now. No one likes to be told you have got that sort of illness. But I am the sort of person who deals with what is in front of me. When I found out, I was like ‘how do we treat it, how do we deal with it, when can we get started on treatment and what’s the plan?'" Rocca said, as quoted by News Corp.

However, he urged people experiencing cancer symptoms to visit a doctor. After his diagnosis, tributes flew in from the Collingwood great. Rocca had an illustrious career in the AFL, which spanned 242 matches and 415 goals. He was named coach of the Northern Knights.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 08, 2024 04:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).