The Score: Radio presenter Mark Allen given all clear in cancer battle, how did Gill’s horse go at Warrnambool?
Mark Allen has ticked off a significant milestone in his 15-month cancer battle, with the popular radio presenter describing the news as unbelievable. Plus, how did Gill’s horse go in the Warrnambool Cup?
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Popular radio presenter Mark Allen has ticked off a significant milestone in his 15-month cancer battle.
For the second time the former golfer has been given the all clear after scans revealed the latest tumour in his lung – which was discovered in October – had now disappeared.
Earlier last year Allen was told he’d overcome stage four cancer after getting a quarter of his lung and more than two-thirds of his rectum removed.
But three months later a new tumour was found in his “good lung” which required immediate surgery.
On Tuesday Allen had a full body scan – his second since he’d finished treatment for the latest issue – and was told the cancer had disappeared.
“It’s unbelievable,” Allen said. “From when I first got diagnosed and found a tumour in my rectum, then three days later they found another one in my lung.
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“The tumour in my lung was one millimetre away from being inoperable which would have meant I was dead in six weeks.
“So to go from that to where we are now is unbelievable.”
The 51-year-old father-of-two said he was feeling “great”, walking 8km every morning and was looking forward to a round of golf at Kingston Heath when the coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
“This scan was a big one because it’s still early and my doctor said that if things blow up they usually blow up really early,” Allen said.
“So the fact it’s not there anymore is just fantastic. Seriously, if I told you I was anything but 100 per cent I would be splitting hairs.”
Allen and his long-time on air radio partner, former Melbourne star David Schwarz, have moved to 3AW after the closure of the Macquarie Sport network last year.
The former SEN drive hosts are now on air every Saturday between 5pm-7pm for ‘The Twilight Zone’.
“3AW have really looked after us which has been amazing,” Allen said. “We were going to do 17 of the 25 weeks of footy but even with the footy season gone they’ve kept us.”
HOW DID AFL HEAVYWEIGHTS GO AT THE BOOL?
RACING is certainly providing sports-starved fans with some enjoyment as a couple of leading AFL identities found out over the weekend.
Manager to the stars Paul Connors and two-time Brownlow Medallist Chris Judd found themselves in the winner’s stall on Sunday at Bendigo.
The pair are part-owners in the Henry Dwyer-trained Under Oath who took its career prizemoney past $200,000 with a victory in Race 7 over 1600m.
It was a welcome result for Connors who had a small share in two other horses who’d raced the previous day, Starcaster and Cath’s Village, but were unplaced.
AFL boss Gillon McLachlan didn’t have as much luck with his runner in Wednesday’s Warrnambool Cup.
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McLachlan, who has been a regular to the May carnival in previous years, is a part-owner, along with his right-hand man, general counsel Andrew Dillon, in Neufbosc.
The David Hayes-trained grey gelding was in the mix on the turn but faded to finish ninth.
Neufbosc – which is named after a small village in the Normandy region in northern France – did give the AFL honchos their biggest thrill in the sport when it ran in last year’s Melbourne Cup although it struggled, finishing 21st.
THE WHISPER
WHICH former AFL goalsneak found himself code hopping and helping the Melbourne Storm move into their new digs in Albury? It turns out his new football career on the border came with a job as part of the ground staff.