Fighting fit! Dad-of-three organises charity football match after beating cancer
Fitness professional Gideon Josephs, who overcame bowel cancer last year, is raising money for Chai with a special football match against Arsenal Legends
Francine Wolfisz is the Features Editor for Jewish News.
A sports enthusiast who recently overcame bowel cancer has organised a special football fundraiser for the charity that supported his family throughout his illness.
Fitness professional Gideon Josephs, 41, from Borehamwood, said he was “hugely shocked” after what doctors initially thought might be appendicitis turned out to be stage 2 colon cancer.
The father-of-three, who had not experienced any of the typical symptoms of the disease, had to endure multiple operations and chemotherapy before finally being given the all-clear.
Now Gideon wants to show his appreciation to Chai Cancer Care, which provided therapy and counselling to his family over the last year, with a football match in aid of the charity.
The L’Chaim Cup, sponsored by The Elms Sport in Schools, Bushey on Sunday, 16 June and will feature his team, Chai Kickers, against Arsenal Legends, whose line-up (subject to change) includes The Royle Family’s Ralf Little, former EastEnders star Sam Attwatter and ex-professional footballers Omer Riza and Joe Baker.
Each player has a fundraising target of £250, with proceeds from the event going to the Chai In Schools programme, which provides play and art therapists, as well as counsellors for children affected by cancer.
Speaking about his experience, Gideon, who is married to Nicole and is father to Nathan, 10 and twins Ben and Gaby, 8, recalled how he was asymptomatic up until travelling to Israel in September 2017.
He said: “On my second day of visiting family, I started getting pains in my stomach. I never experienced pain like I had experienced on that day. It’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
“I was rushed to hospital in Ashkelon, where the doctors discovered I had appendicitis and an infection. But they wanted to treat me with antibiotics and get me back to England – they had an idea that there might be an underlying cause.”
Once back home, Gideon was referred to a specialist and underwent various tests, including an MRI and PET scan, which finally revealed a bowel tumour underneath his appendix.
“It was a huge shock. There was no history of cancer in the family and up until the point of going to Israel, I was very fit, teaching classes and training regularly.”
Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, after breast, prostate and lung cancers and typical symptoms include rectal bleeding, persistent and unexplained changes in bowel habit, unexplained weight loss, extreme tiredness and abdominal pain.
According to Bowel Cancer UK, 94% of new cases are in people over the age of 50, but the disease can affect any age – Gideon was just 39 when he received his diagnosis.
It is however considered to be treatable and curable, if caught early enough.
Gideon underwent multiple operations, a colostomy and three rounds of chemotherapy, before he was finally told the good news that he was in remission.
Throughout most of last year, the family had access to Chai’s services, which include one-to-one counselling, couples counselling, reflexology and meditation. His younger son was also visited by a Chai counsellor at his school.
Now looking to help other patients regain their fitness after illness, Gideon said cancer had changed his outlook on life.
“I always look at the positive side of life, rather than the negative,” he added. “I always tell people to be strong, be positive, get on with life and try and do as much as you can, because you never know what might happen round the corner.”
The L’Chaim Cup takes place at Queens School, Bushey on Sunday, 16 June. To donate on Gideon’s page, visit forchai.org/gideonjosephs
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
