Former Dundee star Eddie Annand has revealed he’s battling an incurable brain tumour.
The 50-year-old was a real fans favourite during his time at Dens Park where he scored 30 times in 109 appearances between 1997 and 2000.
He fired in the goal that won the 1998 First Division title with the equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Raith Rovers.
Now, though, Annand is in the battle of his life.
Annand told the Scottish Sun: “It’s been a hellish few months but I’m still fighting.
“I got a CT scan and after two hours I was taken into a room and the woman just said, ‘I’m sorry, it’s bad news, you have a 7cm incurable brain tumour’.
“I was just sitting there myself unable to take it in.
“My mum and wife, Kirsty, were outside in the waiting area, and they were called in to be with me.
“You can imagine how they were, they were in bits. My whole life just turned upside down in those few minutes.
‘Worst you can get’
“After that, I was taken straight up to the ward and then moved to the Southern General. The specialist, the best in the country, came to see me with the oncologist.
“They pulled the curtain across and told me it was a grade four astrocytoma — the worst you can get — and I had to get emergency surgery the following morning at 8am.
“The surgeon actually warned me before the op that he might open me up and find there was nothing he could do.
“They handed me a form to sign, the kind of form you never want to sign as it means you might not wake up, and that was it.
“Next morning I was taken down to surgery.
“The tumour was the size of a peach and they were able to remove around 92% of it, but said they couldn’t touch the rest because it affects my nerves and speech.
“The surgeon actually wanted to try and take more away but the specialist said no, it was too risky.”
Further health scares
Annand surprised everyone at the hospital by being up and about just two hours after his surgery.
However, further bad news was to come in May and then yet another health shock a few weeks later.
“In May, I was just sitting with my mate at home and then the next thing I knew I was in the back of an ambulance outside the Southern General,” he added.
“I initially thought I’d taken a heart attack, but it turned out it was a seizure.
“Then four weeks ago I struggled to get out of bed with a really sore groin. My legs were aching too and I had cramp in my calf.
“I went to the doctors and was sent for an ultrasound which showed I had a blood clot pressing against my lungs and going up to my heart. So that was another dull one.
“They have put me on blood thinners and hopefully they will keep that under control. But within six months I’ve had three pretty tough diagnoses.”
‘Life has completely changed’
Annand’s 50th birthday celebrations in Las Vegas were cancelled following the diagnosis and trips abroad are impossible because he can’t get insurance.
However, despite the tremendous difficulties of the past few months, the former Clyde, Ayr and Raith Rovers man is trying to keep positive with the help of his family.
“My whole life has completely changed in six months,” he added.
“Everybody tells me to keep being positive and I get that, as just being depressed about things isn’t going to help.
“I’m also lucky I’m not sitting in a wheelchair, or in a hospital ward on a drip.
“But it’s been tough, I can’t lie. When I wake up every day it’s the first thing I think about. Kirsty is amazing, she really is. She won’t even let me get up off the couch to make a cup of tea.
“It’s just a case of seeing how things go.
“They can’t stop the growth of the tumour completely so that’s the fear.
“The good thing is I’m still relatively young at 50. Had I been older they maybe wouldn’t have done the surgery on me at all.
“Everyone asks me if being a footballer has anything to do with it, but I’ve been told it’s just bad luck.
“For now I just want to raise awareness. It’s so rare that there isn’t a lot of treatment compared to other cancers.
“But hopefully that will change one day.”
For more information go to thebraintumourcharity.org
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