MILLWALL keeper Lukas Jensen received bombshell news from his dad Brian that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
It was a phone call that not only numbed him — but also made him feel helpless.
The Danish keeper was only 23 and the fear his then 60-year-old dad may no longer be in his life was something he struggled to get his head around.
Thankfully, after a year of treatment, his dad went into remission.
Jensen, 26, said: “I got a call from my parents three years ago. Dad told me he had prostate cancer.
“He’s over there in Denmark and I’m here sitting in a different country. It was difficult because you feel like it’s out of your hands and you can’t really do anything.
“Not only was he my dad, he had a huge influence on everything I did in football.
“He started as my youth coach and with my mum watched all my games.
“But dad was the one that got me into football and did all my training when I was young.
“So for that to happen to him was a big shock. It took me a few weeks to get my head around it — but my parents were great at telling me what the next steps were for my dad.
“He luckily was diagnosed early on – and was able to get the treatment and he got the all-clear a couple of years ago.
“But so many people have not been so fortunate and that’s why I’m passionate to ensure people get themselves checked, just to be sure or to catch it early before it’s too late.
“And we all have a responsibility to encourage our friends and loved ones.
“My dad probably wouldn’t have caught it as early if it wasn’t for my mum — because she’d say, ‘You need a health check now you’re 60, just to check your full body, see how healthy you actually are.
“Without that health check, they wouldn’t have caught it early on. So I’m so happy my mum said that to my dad because, without it, I don’t know what would have happened.”
Lifelong Millwall fan Brian Kilgannon was not so fortunate and sadly succumbed in his battle with prostate cancer 10 years ago. He was only 51.
During his fight with the disease, the Lions gave their shirt sponsorship free to the Prostate Cancer UK.
They were the first English club to forfeit that lucrative sponsorship revenue to advertise and promote a charity.
Award-winning documentary
An award-winning documentary film was made about Brian’s brave fight against the disease then — and to mark the 10th anniversary of his death the film is being reprised this autumn.
His son Will, who was only 12 at the time of his passing, was at The Den this week with Jensen and former Lions skipper from that time Paul Robinson to do some filming.
Will told me: “On the opening day of the 2012 London Olympics, my dad was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer.
“He’d experienced some symptoms but was a typical man’s man. He thought, ‘This isn’t going to happen to me. There’s nothing wrong with me and put off going to his GP.
“And over time, that cancer had spread outside the prostate and become incurable.
“So, from that stage, we knew that, as a family, our lives would never be the same again.
Raising awareness
“I was a nine-year-old school boy who then knew there’d be a future where my dad wasn’t in it.
“I knew he’d miss my graduation, my first day of my first new job, birthdays, Christmases, all those sort of things.
“We recognised and wanted to stop other families going through the exact same painful situation we were in so that’s why we got involved with Prostate Cancer UK and Millwall to raise awareness and spread our story.
“And to help other men and other families not go through the heartbreak we had to go through as a family.”
Recent data shows that more than 12,000 men die each year of prostate cancer — that is one person dying every 45 minutes!
One in eight white men will be diagnosed — and the risk is doubled if you have familial history or are from a black ethnic minority background.
Powerful message
Will added: “It can be checked with just a simple PSA blood test at your GP. It doesn’t take much time at all but can save your life.”
When Millwall handed over their shirt sponsorship to Prostate Cancer UK, Will was a ball boy for the launch.
And he walked out with Robinson — and the two were reunited at The Den where they had a long chat and reminisced.
Robinson said: “Will has been so brave in telling his dad’s story in a bid to help others not go through what his family had to.
“Millwall gets a lot of unfair press about their reputation but the bottom line is this is a great community of people and fans.
“We are a club that look after our own and I remember how proud I was to be a captain of a team that were the first to give up lucrative sponsorship to instead help spread a message that could help save lives.
“It’s great to see Will all these years later. He has grown a bit!”
And the message “Check them” stands tall!
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