The call

He recounts taking a call at around 10.30am on Friday 6 November, while working from a London hotel room ahead of that evening's launch of The 22 in the Big Red. The call came from a Dublin number he did not recognise, and turned out to be the oncology department of the hospital that had admitted him a couple of weeks earlier.

He writes that he was asked to bring somebody with him because there would be a lot of information to absorb. He adds that he is not yet across every detail: a further scan the day before and a procedure booked for the following Tuesday should give a clearer picture.

Why he went public

His instinct with medical matters, he says, is to keep them private. But he explains that the public-facing nature of his work means readers and listeners are part of his life in a significant way, and that his situation therefore becomes part of theirs too.

He is clear that he will not document the process in detail, and that he wants as much normality as he can get — including the distraction of Arsenal, football and the community that has built up around Arseblog over close to 25 years.

Work and recovery

He says he intends to carry on as usual where possible, with colleagues ready to cover on the days he cannot. He also states plainly that he will not push himself at the expense of his health, and that he does not want the illness to define who he is.

The update also mentions that he returned from London with a severe stomach bug.

Arsenal's most recent fixture was a 1-0 Premier League win over Hull City at the Emirates Stadium on 7 November. Their next match is away to Newcastle United on 21 November.

Photo: Arne Müseler via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, resized.