By Sebastian Karkos
Testicular cancer diagnosis. Timo Baumgartl (26) made his illness public in May – and has been open about it ever since.
The defender also did not hide his bald head after chemotherapy: “It doesn’t matter what you look like. You can still be pretty without hair.”
He has lost neither courage nor humor in the past three months. But Baumgartl admits that it wasn’t easy at first when he dealt with the subject of death: “When you’re diagnosed with cancer, you inevitably deal with it. It’s not easy to do that at 26 because you assume you’re healthy as a competitive athlete.”
Baumgartl continues: “Of course the thought is there: what if I leave my girlfriend behind? dog, family, friends? It comes to crying, having dark thoughts. But one thing was clear to me: That won’t get me any further. The doctors quickly gave me the prognosis that it would not end badly, but well – that’s what I focused on.”
With success. Baumgartl approaches again on the training ground. And wants to give others strength: “As a footballer, I have a role model function. You don’t have to hide yourself with a diagnosis like that. You should deal with it openly, give hope and courage.”
1.FC Union Berlin
And he wants to motivate young men to take preventive care: “Urologists in Berlin have reported that their booth is now being run over. I also think that all my friends were at the health check-up. If I can detect a tumor at an early stage and help, then I’m proud of it.”