Like Olympic medalist Chris Hoy, diagnosed with advanced cancer after going to the doctor for shoulder pain, Mexican boxer Israel ‘Magnifico’ Vázquez has received terrible news about his health after going to a specialist for severe shoulder pain. leg.
Israel Vázquez was world champion (bantamweight and super bantamweight) three times, he retired in 2010, but in recent years he has experienced several medical problems: in 2016 he lost his eye after the aftermath of his last fight with Rafael Márquez; In 2018 he was diagnosed with systemic sclerosis. Now, he has cancer.
What happened to Israel Vázquez?
His wife Laura Vázquez explained in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that ‘El Magnífico’ has stage 4 sarcoma.
“The doctor told us that at most he would be six months old, but I can’t give up like that, we have to go to another doctor, we are already talking to another doctor who is a specialist in sarcoma because this doctor who diagnosed him is not a specialist… we are going to go to another hospital.”
Israel, who lives in Huntington Park, California, where he had a gym, had already seen his health deteriorate with systemic sclerosis.
This chronic autoimmune disease makes the skin sclerotic (hard and rigid), causes joint pain and also damages organs such as the lungs, intestines, kidney or heart, according to the University of Navarra Clinic.
Israel was experiencing severe pain in his left leg, which he thought was due to sclerosis, so he went to a rheumatologist in Mexico City.
After 10 days in the capital, he returned with 9 kilos less weight and without being able to walk, in addition, he received the news of the sarcoma, his wife mentioned:
“He walked to the airport and came back in a wheelchair… It was a very rapid deterioration, in the blink of an eye, it totally changed his life. It was difficult for him to breathe, he had a lot of swelling in his legs, especially the left one, which caused him a lot of pain, he helped himself walk with a cane. After all, they hadn’t told us it was cancer.”
What is sarcoma, cancer by Israel Vázquez?
The National Cancer Institute details that sarcoma is a type of cancer that begins in the bones and tissues such as cartilage or muscles; there are different types, depending on the area where it forms.
American Society Cancer adds that stage 4 is when “it has spread to distant places…They can rarely be cured. “But some patients may be cured if the main tumor and all areas of cancer spread (metastasis) can be removed by surgery.”
Vázquez has been admitted to a Los Angeles hospital twice: the first was six weeks ago and the second on October 31.
Laura explained that he has mobility difficulties, in addition to the fact that the medications leave him very tired: “He can hardly speak and if he does, his breathing stops, he is very weak… He doesn’t want to be seen like that, he wants everyone to see him.” They have the image of him as when he was a boxer. He is very different from how he was.”
Mauricio Sulaimán and World Boxing Council are promoting a campaign on Go Found Me to help his family with expenses: “Our beloved champion has received a devastating cancer diagnosis. One of the most exciting and compassionate boxers of all time needs your help. There is no time to waste.”
The petition has received $26,435 of the $75,000 goal, the WBC details that it is trying to bring his family from Mexico and ensure they receive the care they deserve.