West Ham hero reveals heartbreaking reason why he has stopped cancer treatment as former footballer opens up on health battle

West Ham icon Ludek Miklosko has revealed he has battled cancer for the past few years but has now stopped treatment.

The Czech star, 63, played for the Hammers between 1990 and 1998, making 218 appearances, and also played for QPR in England.

In total he made almost 400 appearances before retiring in 2001, returning to West Ham as goalkeeping coach when he hung up his gloves – a role he left in 2010.

He has since returned to the Czech Republic and worked for a sports investment company. He is currently sporting director at Banik Ostrava, although he has now revealed the heartbreaking news.

‘Ludo’, as he was dubbed by West Ham fans, will be at the London Stadium for his former side’s match against Liverpool on Sunday and has revealed he has been battling cancer for three years.

He also revealed that he has withdrawn from treatment to enjoy the highest quality of life for as long as possible, as detailed on West Ham’s website.

He also explained how he stopped treatment to ‘live a normal life for as long as I can’

“Right now I feel good,” he said. ‘A lot of friends have said to me that if they didn’t know what I was going through, they would think I was fine, which is nice to hear because I want to feel that way for as long as possible. .

“I’m still working, I can be with the players and the people, and my life is very busy at the moment. I try to keep it that way. I want to be busy and active and play football as much as possible, because that is what I love.’

He further revealed that his diagnosis came about when he discovered a lump in his hip, with post-surgery checks focusing on the hip but the cancer had spread to other parts of his body.

‘That was the problem, because there appeared to be a tumor still growing in the stomach. Last year I started having some pain and problems while on holiday and had to be rushed to hospital from the airport as soon as I landed back in the Czech Republic.

“The next day they did some tests and discovered that I had a large tumor in my stomach, too big to operate and also in an area that was too dangerous,” he added. ‘I had some radiotherapy, which reduced it a bit, and we talked to specialists around the world about what else was possible.

‘I had exploratory surgery to see if there was any chance of removing the tumor, but that was impossible and I would not have survived the operation. Then it was just a matter of trying to get it under control and seeing if it would grow, or if other areas would be affected.”

Doctors found more tumors and the only treatment option was chemotherapy.

At that point he decided not to undergo further treatment, and he explained why when he addressed the West Ham fans.

The former goalkeeper will take to the pitch to greet fans ahead of West Ham’s match against Liverpool on Sunday

“I thought about this and had another conversation with the doctor in Ostrava, and it was made clear to me that there could be no guarantees that it would work,” he said. ‘Maybe it would help to slow it down a bit, but it wouldn’t stop it and there would be other issues to address.

‘I decided not to take chemotherapy because I want to live a normal life. I have very good people around me, and I have my job and my football, that is my life, all I have known. I want to continue doing that for as long as possible.’

He thanked the Hammers supporters for their support since he played for the club and will be presented on the pitch before the match with Liverpool.

West Ham said: ‘The whole West Ham United family are with Ludek at this time and we encourage everyone attending today’s match to take their seats ten minutes before kick-off to give him the welcome and love he so deserves enormously.’