**Trigger warning - this episode contains conversations about cancer**
Episode 73
Found a lump? Get yourself checked out!
Eliot Richards came through the academy at Bristol Rovers signing his first professional contract in the summer of 2009. Over the next five years, Eliot would go on to make over 100 appearances for the club during a difficult time which saw them twice relegated and fall out of the football league for the first time in their history.
Following relegation, Eliot signed for Tranmere Rovers under the tutelage of Rob Edwards. Despite some early expectations following Eliot's arrival, Tranmere's seasons quickly spiralled out of control and Edwards was replaced by Micky Adams. Eliot left Tranmere in the January of that season having been frozen out by Micky Adams, with Tranmere eventually being relegated out of the football league for the first time in 94 years.
Eliot knows a thing or two about a tricky situation, so in March of 2015, when Eliot was diagnosed with testicular cancer, he was determined to tackle it with the same positivity and determination that had characterised his playing career to date. 6 months after his original diagnosis, Eliot was given the all clear from cancer, and eventually returned to professional football full time later that year.
Since then Eliot has continued his career with clubs like Hereford, and Barnet.
Today we talk to Eliot about his early career at Bristol Rovers, the uncomfortable and challenging time he had at Tranmere, his cancer diagnosis and how he dealt with that emotionally, and the subsequent years where he has continued to forge out a professional playing career.
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Lads, If you are unsure about the signs and symptoms of testicular cancer you should be looking out for, here are some useful links:
Testicular Cancer UK
https://www.testicularcanceruk.com/
Testicular Cancer - NHS conditions
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/testicular-cancer/
Cancer Research UK
https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/testicular-cancer?gclid=CjwKCAjwos-HBhB3EiwAe4xM95ppOdLPpIH4-mW1W1AQsWAGqPZev23dp3mESjpVwSRxtc0ursvFkhoCQx8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
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