Portishead Town's Trueman cancer diagnosis prompts £50,000 fundraising initiative
Nathan Trueman began his career with Portishead Town at the age of six before spells with Bristol Rovers and Forest Green Rovers before moving back to Posset ahead of the 2019-20 season. - Credit: Portishead Camera Club
Portishead Town have set a GoFundMe page to raise £50,000 to help their captain Nathan Trueman, deal with cancer.
The 20-year-old defender was diagnosed with a rare, large and incredibly aggressive grade four tumour growing within the tissue of his right shoulder (Synovial Sarcoma) in December, four months after he found a lump under his right arm, and has undergone chemotherapy.
"The club will be behind Nathan 100 per cent to help him and his family in whatever way we can," said Portishead coach Dave Hewitt.
His diagnosis has sent shockwaves around the club and the community with local teams, such as Cheddar and Bristol Rovers, where he trained and played as a youngster, making donations.
Nathan Trueman is the current captain of Portishead Town. - Credit: Portishead Camera Club
According to National Cancer Institute one third of patients will be diagnosed under the age of 30 and it is more common in males.
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They describe the illness as 'a cancer that can come from different types of soft tissue, such as muscle or ligaments. It is often found in the arm, leg, or foot, and near joints such as the wrist or ankle. It can also form in soft tissues in the lung or abdomen'.
Trueman has begun intensive intravenous chemotherapy at the Bristol Oncology Unit which will involve him being hooked up to the life-saving drugs for up to three days at a time in the hope the tumour will reduce in size enough for a specialist shoulder surgeon to be able to remove what remains. This will then be followed by a final blast of radiotherapy.
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Due to the nature of Trueman's cancer, treatment and the recovery time required, he will be unable to work for many months to come.
Whilst his employers have generously offered to pay his salary for three months, Trueman will then have no income to meet his payments.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by his family, friends, colleagues and teammates, where they will be taking part in various challenges and initiatives in order to get to the £50,000 goal for both Sarcoma UK https://sarcoma.org.uk/ and the Teenage Cancer Trust https://www.teenagecancertrust.org/, which Trueman has personally chosen.
"We will be doing some events like a bike ride, a game against an all star team and the lads in the team are getting sponsors in to help too," added Hewitt.
"We know he’ll beat this as he’s not only physically strong but also mentally. And we hope to raise awareness at the same time to younger kids to check themselves daily as it can happen to the healthiest and fittest of young lads.
"We have no doubt that he will come back fitter and stronger from this and lead Portishead Town Football Club to bigger things."
You can make a donation and follow Nathan’s progress on the GoFundMe page at http://gf.me/u/zf7rxr or call 07917 567415 for cash donations.
