BBC News, Lancashire<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n A former footballer has told how he was in “complete shock” after being diagnosed with blood cancer – after first believing the pain was from a pulled muscle.<\/p>\n Mel Tottoh was diagnosed with myeloma after months of rib and back pain.<\/p>\n The father-of-three, from Freckleton in Lancashire, went to the GP after feeling a “searing pain” that made him feel like he had broken a rib when taking a swing on the golf course in 2021.<\/p>\n “When I was diagnosed, I had holey bones in my ribs, thighs, spine and skull,” said the 68-year-old, who played for Preston North End in the 1980s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He said he had twinges in his ribs and back for a year and a half before his diagnosis, but initially put them down to playing a lot of golf.<\/p>\n When the pain got worse in the middle of 2020, he consulted his GP who told him he had likely pulled a muscle and that the twinges would sort themselves out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “It progressed over months to being quite debilitating,” he recalled. <\/p>\n “It got to a point where it started having a real impact on my life.”<\/p>\n After blood tests he was diagnosed with myeloma in August 2021. <\/p>\n “Being struck down with this was a complete shock,” he said. <\/p>\n “My dad had died of cancer and then, in the last 12 years, two of my brothers died of cancer. I thought it was the end.”<\/p>\n But the team at Blackpool Victoria Hospital “were amazing”, he said. <\/p>\n Mr Tottoh had radiotherapy to treat the damage to his bones. <\/p>\n He then had chemotherapy, followed by a stem cell transplant and has been in remission since November 2022.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Throughout, the support of family and friends has been invaluable, he said.<\/p>\n “It takes a small army to get you through this ordeal,” said Mr Tottoh, who is still on maintenance treatment to keep his cancer at bay for as long as possible. <\/p>\n “The most important thing now is having people in your corner, people who care, people who lift you up when you’re down. <\/p>\n “My family and closest friends have done that.”<\/p>\n Nearly five years on from his diagnosis, Mr Tottoh is now determined to make memories with his family and his grandson Theo, nine.<\/p>\n “My mindset is really positive,” he said. <\/p>\n “I will see my grandson go to university and get married – if that’s what he wants to do. I will see my kids fulfil their dreams. <\/p>\n “Right now, I’m in an amazing place and I’m on the path to living with myeloma for a very long time.”<\/p>\n He said if anyone feels unsure about any symptoms they may have, they should visit the doctor.<\/p>\n “Nobody knows your body better than you, so own it,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Source Myeloma UK<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Handout](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/b12b\/live\/05821b20-4858-11f0-83bd-e5b5d0a69992.jpg.webp\")
Handout<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20250611-093910-fc500e843d-web-2.23.1-1\/grey-placeholder.png\")
![\"Handout](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/e7a1\/live\/2a21b760-4858-11f0-84b6-6bf0f66205f1.jpg.webp\")
Handout<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n‘Positive mindset’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Myeloma<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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