London Irish player 'remaining positive' in wake of cancer diagnosis
Squad members and staff at London Irish are rallying behind first team player Darren Dawidiuk who is receiving treatment for testicular cancer.
Dawidiuk, 30, who joined Irish in the summer, was diagnosed with the disease following his side’s pre-season friendly against Ealing Trailfinders.
The Truro born hooker is currently undergoing chemotherapy following an operation to remove a tumour in his right testicle.
“All of the London Irish management team and the players have been extremely supportive,” said Dawidiuk.
“The messages of support that I’ve received after Nick broke the news to the lads have been overwhelming, and it’s helped me to remain positive as I continue my treatment.
“Director of rugby Nick Kennedy has been brilliant from the moment I was diagnosed, and I can’t wait to complete my treatment plan and get the green light to return to training.”
In between his chemotherapy sessions, Dawidiuk is immersing himself in the gym and following a vegan diet to fight the disease.
“When I was diagnosed I immediately made the conscious decision to change my diet to a vegan diet to give my immune system all the nutrients it needs to help reduce and fight against the cancer cells in my body,” said Dawidiuk.
“A lot of people’s bodies are in an acidic state, which is what cancer thrives on and if you can reverse it to an alkaline state then your body is able to fight against the cancer naturally.
“The doctors have already noticed the benefits of me being on a vegan diet and they are encouraging me to keep it up and continue with my training.
“By following this diet I feel much healthier and don’t feel as bloated, which is giving me the energy to train in the gym.”
While Dawidiuk is doing everything he can to get himself back to full fitness, the front row wants to build awareness of the disease which affects thousands of men every year.
London Irish take on Dawidiuk’s former club, Gloucester, in the Anglo-Welsh Cup at Kingsholm this Saturday with both clubs working together with Oddballs to raise awareness of testicular cancer to get men checking more regularly to be diagnosed sooner, which is the key to beating any cancer. Both teams will be warming up in Oddballs bobble hats and T-shirts with the message Dukey 2 on them.
London Irish will also be wearing the hats and T-shirts when they warm up ahead of their next home game on Sunday 19 November when Bath Rugby are the visitors to the Madejski Stadium.
The club will be making a donation of £4 per adult ticket and £2 per 65 and over ticket bought for the game from Tuesday 7 November onwards to the Movember Foundation which supports research into some of the biggest health issues faced by men including testicular cancer. To make a donation by buying tickets to the game, visit www.london-irish.com/tickets or call 0118 968 1016 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and Saturday 9am to noon.)
The London Irish players will also be collecting for Movember at the Bath game and a £1 donation to the Movember Foundation will be made for every 2018 London Irish calendar sold. The calendars are available from www.londonirishshop.com or in the Madejski Stadium Megastore.
And everyone can join in supporting Darren by signing up to the London Irish Movember Team and being sponsored to grow a mo or take part in a challenge. James Marshall is our Mo Captain, and you can join the team by visiting moteam.co/London-irish.
Dawidiuk, who made 144 appearances for the Cherry and Whites, says this weekend’s match at Kingsholm will be an emotional occasion for him.
“Whenever something like this happens, the rugby community rallies around and offers immense support,” said Dawidiuk.
“I’m looking forward to the game and it will be good to see some old faces down at Kingsholm.”
London Irish director of rugby, Nick Kennedy said: “Everyone at London Irish is right behind Darren at this difficult time and his health and wellbeing is the number one priority.
“Darren and his family will receive our full love and support and we are with him shoulder to shoulder every step of the way towards a full recovery.
“We are speaking to Darren regularly and the London Irish medical team are assisting him throughout his treatment.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Danny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
35 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to comments