May 3, 2023
Former Owls defender Tommy Spurr and his wife Chloe have teamed up with Sheffield FC and Sheffield Eagles to stage a 'Steel City Derby' of former Wednesday and United stars to help raise funds for their four-year-old son Rio who is battling a rare and aggressive stage 4 cancer.
Rio was diagnosed with a rare stage 4 Wilms tumour in April of 2022. (only 80 children in the UK are diagnosed with a Wilms tumour every year) He had a large tumour in his right kidney which had spread to his lungs- a tumour in each of his lungs. Following surgery to remove his right kidney and primary tumour the pathologist found Rio's cancer was high risk and anaplastic (only 5-8% of all Wilms tumours fall into this category). This means his cancer is more resistant to chemotherapy, much harder to cure and more likely to comeback if Rio has clear scans post treatment.
The high risk and anaplastic features of rio's diagnosis make his chance of relapse high. Should he relapse, Rio's consultant has advised that he will not have many (if any) options left for treatment and Rios chances of survival will plummet to around 10%. The Spurr family could find themselves in a position of desperately searching for clinical trials overseas and will not be unprepared should Rio relapse following initial treatment.
The game will take place at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park (S9 3TL) on Sunday 14th May, Kick off at 2pm.
A host of former favourites from Wednesday and United will come together for one afternoon, including appearances from former Wednesday manager Ron Atkinson and United manager Neil Warnock.
Tickets will cost £13 for adults and £8.00 for under 18s.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rio-spurrs-steel-city-derby-tickets-609388325887
By officialswfc
