McPhail diagnosed with cancer

21 November 2009 14:34
The 29-year-old former Republic of Ireland international, who joined Cardiff three years ago, is aiming to return to football by January 2010.[LNB]The player started his career at Leeds United and had loan spells at Millwall and Nottingham Forest before joining Barnsley in 2004.[LNB]The announcement on the Welsh club's web page reads: "Stephen McPhail has been diagnosed with a stage one malt lymphoma, previously known as a pseudo lymphoma.[LNB]"Treatment is expected to last for three weeks with a return to football by January 2010.[LNB]"The club requests that the privacy of Stephen, his wife, and young family be respected during his recovery."[LNB]Malt lymphoma is a relatively rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to cancer charity Macmillan.[LNB]It is most common in the stomach but may also occur in the lung, the thyroid, salivary gland and other organs such as the intestine.[LNB]Most cases of malt lymphoma affecting the stomach are caused through infection by bacteria Helicobacter pylori.[LNB]It is treated with antibiotics, radiotherapy, surgery and chemotherapy.[LNB][LNB]

Source: Team_Talk