SIR BOBBY ROBSON, who is battling cancer for the fifth time, admits that he is unlikely to beat it this time. The 75-year-old former England manager was diagnosed with inoperable tumours to both lungs 12 months ago. A cocktail of chemotherapy and drugs is currently controlling this latest bout of the disease, but Robson candidly admits that it is now only a matter of when, rather than if.

“I’m in my 76th year. I’ve had a fantastic sporting life, but I’ve had cancer five times. None of my four brothers has had cancer, and I keep saying that I’ve had their share, but I consider myself lucky. I may have had cancer five times but thanks to the wonderful treatment I have had through the NHS my life has been saved.

“Now it’s time I paid them back, and I want to do this through the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, initially by raising in excess of £500,000 to equip a new cancer trials unit. We want the northeast to have the best unit not just in England, but in Europe.”

The Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre opens at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital in October and will boast a state-of-the-art laboratory.

“There isn’t much I can do about it other than to keep fighting. You have to be positive. I could spend my time moaning and complaining, but I’m not one of those people. If you are prepared to fight then I am a great believer you can overcome. I know I am going to die, but then we all die eventually. The time will come when I won’t win every battle, but my fighting spirit has seen me through this far.”

Find out how you can help at www.justgiving.com/thesirbobbyrobsonfoundation

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