A TEENAGE goalkeeper’s football dreams were shattered after a twinge in his knee turned out to be bone cancer – leaving him needing an amputation.
Two years ago, Manchester United fan Jake Last was playing for Burnley’s Under-14s and earned the nickname ‘The Cat’ for his agility.
Now the 15-year-old is preparing to have his right leg amputated next month after the cancer progressed despite bouts of chemotherapy and surgery.
Jake, from Chadderton, Greater Manchester, is already dreaming of one day playing for a top amputee team – and maybe even England.
His father, John, 54, said: “I don’t think you will ever get Jake to not be involved in football.
“He is an amazing lad. He has been unbelievable. It is strange to say, but he lives as if he has never had the disease.
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“The treatment (chemotherapy) has been brutal. But he knows it is having an effect on the cancer and helping get rid of it.”
Jake’s grit has impressed both footballing halves of Manchester.
Kobbie Mainoo – the United star who shone in the weekend’s FA Cup final, has sent him a video message.
In the clip, Kobbie said: “Hi Jake, it’s Kobbie. I’m sorry to hear everything you are going through.
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“Stay strong and I hope everything goes well with the surgery.”
A City-supporting friend of the family donated a framed, signed shirt worn by Ederson, which was auctioned off to raise hundreds of pounds to help Jake’s family through tough times.
John said: “Both United and Blues friends of the family have been wonderful in the support they have given to us.”
The proud dad recalled how a twinge in Jake’s knee was the start of what has been a long arduous road.
John said: “He was playing for Burnley U-14s and had suffered an ankle injury and was on crutches for six weeks.
“We thought the pain in his knee was just because he had been on crutches so long.”
But Jake eventually ended up in hospital for an X-ray. Damaged tendons were suspected – but further tests in March 2022 revealed the shattering truth that it was actually osteosarcoma.
He then had 16 weeks of chemotherapy at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and underwent surgery in Birmingham to replace his knee, tibia and femur with titanium implants.
Jake required a further 14 weeks of chemotherapy back in Manchester to ‘mop up’ the remaining cancerous cells.
He rang the bell in Ward 86 in May of last year, as there was no sign of the cancer, and has since had gruelling sessions of physiotherapy and hydrotherapy to enable him to walk again.
But an MRI scan in October of last year, to check on his progress, found that the cancer had returned in his hip.
Hopefully one day Jake can get in the England amputee team set-up
Jake Last’s dad John
John said: “We were devastated as we really thought he had beat this horrible disease.
“So he started a different type of chemotherapy in February of this year, of which there are six sessions, he has one more to go which is from June 4 to June 9.
“He had an MRI scan after the second lot of chemotherapy and it was found that the chemotherapy was attacking the tumour and breaking it down.
“It also showed that there was a small cancerous tumour in his lung and a suspected tumour in his spine but the tumour in his lung had not grown since his first scan so that is good news.”
After his most recent scan, the radiologist had confirmed that the issue in Jake’s back is now not cancerous. He will have a final scan next month before surgery.
John said: “Jake has decided he will be more able bodied if they remove his right leg at the hip. The higher we go the less chance there is of the cancer returning.
“He had already said to the doctors after being diagnosed, ‘Why don’t you just take my leg off?’
“But they rightly said they had to try and save his limb. Now it has come back in his hip he struggles to walk without his crutches.”
FAMILY HEARTACHE
Astonishingly, before the cancer was discovered in his hip Jake had started football training again with grassroots side Droylsden Youth Centre.
Ahead of joining Burnley, the youngster had played for Chadderton Park, Moston Tigers, and Avro.
John said: “He was invited to watch the England amputee team play in Partington which was brilliant.
“Around here there are only Manchester City and Everton that have amputee teams. He can hopefully go training with one of them and one day get in the England set-up.”
Chelsea Ashworth, who has set up a GoFundMe page to support Jake’s family, said: “Jake is an absolutely incredible inspiration and has endured so much over the last few years and still has a long road to recovery.”
Jake is the second child of John and his wife, Tracy. John added: “In 2007 we had a daughter, Olivia, who died shortly after her birth.
“Jake was born in 2008 and I guess the loss of Olivia was why he was born so soon after.
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“He still talks of his sister – and I am sure if she was here she would be saying, ‘I’m right behind you.'”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
