ranger people Legend Andy Gorham has been given just six months to live after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
The 58-year-old reportedly turned down chemotherapy saying it would only give him 12 weeks, adding that he would ‘fight like I’ve never fought before’.
Gorham initially mistook his illness for poor dyspepsia, but after a scan at Monklands Hospital he was told he had stage four esophageal cancer.
The former goalkeeper played 184 times for Rangers, winning five league titles and three Scottish Cups. He was a favorite of Sir Alex Ferguson, who handed the keeper his first 43 Scotland cap in 1985 and signed him on loan. Manchester United in 2000.
talking daily Record, Gorham said: ‘I thought I had severe indigestion. As if my gulal is blocked. After a few weeks, it got worse and nothing seemed to fix it.
‘Everything I ate or drank didn’t go halfway in my stomach and I threw it back up. I couldn’t be face-to-face with my GP for two weeks, by which time I was in complete agony. I too lost four stones in four weeks.’
Andy Gorham won five league titles and three Scottish Cups during his time at Rangers
The 58-year-old, who was recently pictured speaking at an event, initially thought she had bad indigestion after experiencing heartburn, but was diagnosed with terminal cancer
Rangers icon Gorham won 43 caps for Scotland in a 13-year international career
‘I had a CT scan in Munklands, then the world was taken to the general and told that my family members should stay with me. Then alarm bells started ringing. I realized that I have cancer.’
He continued: ‘The surgeon explained where all the cancer was and it was inoperable. I knew I was in for a fight. If I don’t get chemo, I have an average of six months.’
‘Take chemotherapy and be in agony for an additional three months and zero quality of life? no, thanks. Chemotherapy is off the menu.
‘They had to put a stent in my esophagus to clear the blockage of the cancer and help me swallow again. The operation was a complete success, yet the pain was unbearable.
Goram now wants to make the rest of his life as bearable as possible. He said: ‘The priority now is to find the right mix and strength of painkillers with morphine.
‘I’ve been given other drugs that I’m not trying to pronounce. How serious is this situation with all these bullets reaching door to door. I have to take my medicine religiously or I am in big trouble.’
‘My pain is manageable. I can still go to the club of friends and supporters and I still am.
‘I’ll be here as long as I can. I will fight like I have never fought before. The only difference is that the time bomb is ticking.
The ex-goalkeeper, pictured in November 2021, turned down chemotherapy as it would only give him an extra three months
Gorham began his professional career at Oldham after coming through the ranks at West Brom before being released as a teenager.
He made nearly 200 league appearances for the Latics after joining the club in 1981, earning himself £325,000 six years later at Scottish side Hibernian.
After impressing during four seasons with Hibbs, Rangers paid £1 million to sign Gorham in 1991 and he became both their No. 1 fan and a fan.
He took home a total of 10 trophies during his time at Ibrox and was named Scottish Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year for 1992–93.
After leaving Rangers in 1998, Gorham had brief spells at Notts County and Sheffield United before returning to Scotland for three seasons with Motherwell.
He went on loan to Manchester United, performing in League Two, after the Red Devils’ lack of senior goalkeepers during this period.
Gorham played for Hamilton Academic, Coventry, Oldham, Queen of the South and Elgin before hanging up his gloves in 2004 after a career spanning 23 years.