Thread by @bvbnewsblog

Sébastien Haller on the most emotional message during the time when the diagnosis came:

"When I came home, my wife had prepared some small posters with the messages of my family. Mom, dad, brother, sister. That was actually the most emotional thing."

🗞 @BILD

#BVB

"But there were also an incredible number of uplifting messages from the football world; I can't even list all the people. The president of the Ivory Coast was there, my ex-clubs and of course a lot of players, but I'd like to keep the messages to myself."

#BVB

"But I can tell you that the 'Frankfurt Buffalo gang' with Luka Jovic and Ante Rebic also wrote to me, which made me happy."

#BVB

Q: how did they stay so positive about the situation:

"I knew right away: I have no other choice. The choices are limited. It doesn't do you any good to put yourself in a depression. So I told myself: stay positive, get your family and friends together. [..]"

#BVB

"You're not alone. So go through this with them."

#BVB

How difficult was it to explain your illness to your children?

"I first discussed with my wife how we could best explain it to our children. We looked on the Internet for tips, and also asked other people. We then found a way and explained it to them with a little video."

#BVB

"The most difficult thing was to make them understand that although I'm fine right now, I'm still sick and have to go to the hospital - even for a few weeks or months. We wanted to be honest, the kids are smart [...]"

#BVB

"[...] and have good intuition themselves, so we didn't want to try to hide anything from them at all. Fortunately they took it well, I laughed a lot at home, played a lot with them."

#BVB

"In the beginning, of course, it wasn't like always - my big son often wanted to jump on me, so I had to tell him 'not yet'. But now it's all good."

#BVB

What moment has helped you the most:

"First and foremost, every moment with the family. My physiotherapist has also helped me extremely, also from a mental point of view. I always knew he was there and I had someone at home to work with."

#BVB

"It was valuable for me to feel that someone was working to make sure I was physically comfortable and able to come back fit. And because he put so much effort into it, I couldn't just cancel a session either. That would have been ungrateful."

#BVB

"I also needed him to eat well and healthy. All of that in conjunction with my family helped me the most."

#BVB

You train with an Apple Watch. What is the background?

"I've had it for six months to track myself and have all the data about me. With it, I can assess the exact intensities and have a rough overview of my condition."

#BVB

How many chemotherapies did you have to undergo?

"Four, plus two sugeries. Each time I had to spend several days in the hospital and in bed. The symptoms were unpleasant. I lost a lot of fluid each time, and weighed several kilos less as a result."

#BVB

"[...] I had hiccups and stomach problems; I couldn't taste food properly for a while."

#BVB

----

"I would recommend it to all people, not just footballers, to have regular check-ups. And I would also advise every club to have regular checks. Because there are not always clear symptoms to be able to detect cancer. Blood tests are important;"

#BVB

"[...] in case of doubt, tumour markers can provide information. I would now like to lead the way with this advice. This is extremely important and can save lives."

#BVB