Doctors had already written him off
German footballer beats cancer
12/27/2024 – 10:57 amReading time: 2 minutes
For Tom Weilandt, his professional football career is over. But after what he had to go through, it’s more than bearable, as he himself says.
Tom Weilandt has probably won his most important battle: the former second division professional (Hansa Rostock, VfL Bochum) has beaten cancer. He told the “Ostsee-Zeitung”: “I’m happy every day to still be here. I’ve been given a second life. After everything I’ve been through, I’ll never be afraid again.”
Weilandt’s story up to that point was dramatic – and remained largely hidden from the public. The 32-year-old has been playing for Greifswalder FC since the summer of 2022, but he didn’t play a game for the regional league team throughout last year. In December 2023, Weilandt was diagnosed with blood cancer. “I felt paralyzed and hoped that a second opinion could resolve the findings,” he explained.
A month later, his condition worsened rapidly, he fainted in his sleep and had to have head surgery because the pressure on his brain was too great. “The doctors had written me off,” says Tom Weilandt, describing the situation. “When I played, I ran eleven kilometers. In the hospital, the four meters to the toilet were insurmountable for me without help.”
When the ordeal (surgery, chemotherapy) seemed to be over, the next setback came. Weilandt, who had now only weighed 55 kilograms, became infected with a hospital germ. But the midfielder survived that too and was able to leave the hospital around Easter. “I was protected. Jesus was part of my healing. There is no other way I can explain why I became healthy again,” he said.
Weilandt is aware that his career as a footballer is over. But that is only secondary. “I’m not sad because I had a good time. I’m happy every day to still be here. I’ve been given a second life. After everything I’ve been through, I’ll never be afraid again.”