‘Spurs gave me strength I didn’t have before’

Playing his beloved sport for Tottenham Hale Bowls Club, Joseph was an active figure in the local community. 

“I’d had pretty good health for most of my life, up until about six or seven years ago, when I was diagnosed with a large prostate and they decided that they would operate,” he says.

“It’s normally a minor operation, but they found that I had a small amount of cancer in there.”

Joseph began to struggle with everyday life, finding it hard to get in and out of the bath.

But the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation stepped in. Inspired to exercise and regain his strength at Tottenham Green, Joseph met Emiliano from the Foundation. 

“Emiliano is an absolute gentleman," Joseph says. "Nothing is too much for him and he encourages me to do all different types of exercises.

"I probably wouldn’t have stayed there had he not been there."

Joseph is one of more than 100 people who have been helped by the Macmillan After Cancer Exercise (ACE), a 12-week exercise referral programme delivered as part of the club’s commitment to fighting cancer.

See: More on Macmillan ACE

“It’s been kind of a resurgence in my life," Joseph says. "It’s given me strength that I didn’t have before, but it’s definitely there now.”

See: ACE has had a major influence on my life