TRIBUTES are pouring in for a Manchester United youth team player who tragically died after a battle with cancer.
Bobby Power, who also starred as ‘Gorgeous’ Gordon Burley in the football film There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble, has passed away aged 40.
MEN MediaBobby Power, a former Manchester United youth team player, has died aged 40[/caption]
The dad had also appeared in the film There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble
MEN MediaBobby had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer[/caption]
The dad-of-three had played for the Manchester United youth team in the 1990s, and spent years as a personal trainer in the city.
He gained a massive online following in the years that followed by sharing his love for fitness and the outdoors.
Tributes are now pouring in for Bobby, who tragically died in February.
One of his heartbroken daughters, Kaitlyn Eadsforth, said: “He was really outgoing. Literally anywhere he went, he would talk to anyone.
“He was like a social butterfly, in any room that he went in.
“If he wasn’t at the gym he was climbing mountains. He loved helping other people.
“That’s what he was all about really – helping people physically and mentally.”
The fitness lover had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after feeling unusually tired while he scaled a mountain.
Bobby was moved into Dr Kershaw’s Hospice in Oldham, where his appearance dramatically changed.
His mum Estrella Barry said: “He spent the rest of his life trying to find a cure. He wanted to live for his girls. He did everything he could.
“He thought he was going in to get strong so he could get chemotherapy in Liverpool.
“But unfortunately that’s the last place he went.”
It was at the hospice where Bobby married Jemma Power-Bliss on Valentine’s Day, in front of friends and family.
Estrella continued: “He couldn’t walk or anything. He was like a little skeleton. It was what he wanted, but a few weeks later he died.
“He has inspired so many people because he was just such an active person.”
Bobby is survived by his daughters Loren, 20, Kaitlyn, 19, and Heidi, 12.
A JustGiving page has been started by his pal Leigh Sarsfield, who is running a 100-mile ultramarathon to raise money for the hospice.
Two ‘silent’ symptoms of pancreatic cancer
BY ISABEL SHAW
PANCREATIC cancer is often known as a ‘silent killer’ because it’s symptoms are so hard to spot – especially in the early stages.
However, there are a couple of early signs which people are being urged to look out for.
Symptoms to look out for are back pain, indigestion, stomach pain and weight loss.
But researchers have now identified two more, lesser-known symptoms.
In a study last year, researchers at the University of Oxford found that increased thirst and dark yellow urine can both be caused by pancreatic cancer.
Dr Weiqi Liao, a data scientist at the university, said: “When pancreatic cancer is diagnosed earlier, patients have a higher chance of survival.
“It is possible to diagnose patients when they visit their GP, but both patients and GPs need to be aware of the symptoms associated with pancreatic cancer.”
Pancreatic cancer is the eleventh most common type of cancer in the UK and the sixth highest cause of cancer death.
The cancer has the lowest survival rate of any common cancer in the UK – with more than half of patients dying within three months of diagnosis.
The disease affects a large gland that is part of the digestive system – the pancreas is located behind the stomach and under the liver.
It has two main functions: dripping digestive enzymes into the gut to help break down food, and releasing the hormones insulin and glucagon to regulate blood sugar.
Pancreatic cancer occurs when malignant – cancerous – cells form in the tissues of the pancreas.
As with all cancers, there are certain things that can increase the risk of developing the disease.
According to Cancer Research UK, smoking cigarettes, cigars, pipes and chewing tobacco all increase pancreatic cancer risk.
They found that nearly one in three pancreatic cancers (about 30 per cent) may be linked to smoking.
MEN MediaBobby married Jemma Power-Bliss on Valentine’s Day, in front of friends and family[/caption]
MEN MediaHis heartbroken mum Estrella said he had been convinced he was going to get better[/caption]