Part 2 - Alan Nestor opens up to Fergal lynch on his battle to overcome cancer

After enduring an eight-month battle with cancer that tested the indomitable spirit of Blackhall Gaels footballer Alan Nestor, the 26-year-old emerged on the other side to play a part in his club’s A FL Div 2 final victory over Ballinlough last December.

Nestor’s final cycle of treatment for testicular cancer finished towards the end of November. He had a scan on 3rd December to see if the treatment had worked, but before he got the results of that scan, he played for the final 10 minutes of the league final on 7th December. Three days later, he received the two words all cancer patients yearn to hear: all clear. The journey home from the hospital with his sister Leona that day was quite subdued and the celebrations rather muted. Whether it was the fact that Nestor always believed he would beat cancer and never doubted the outcome or the realisation that his exhausting journey was finally coming to an end, he celebrated in less than typical fashion over a quiet dinner with his sister.

Family played a crucial role in his recovery, and with the support of his own family and friends and the help and good wishes from the “phenomenal” GAA community, Nestor believes the whole experience would have been a completely different one without them. “I don’t know how anybody could go through what I went through during those eight months without having the support of a family like my own or like the GAA family,” he said.

“The support structures in the GAA are excellent. It must be very difficult for someone going through cancer to have to go through it without the help of a sports club or a similar thing. “The GAA is such a huge part of the community and the GPA were also phenomenal in their support. The way people from the club rallied around me was such a boost and it really helped my recovery process. “They all gave donations and sold Irish Cancer Society bands and did stuff for me personally. “They all went above and beyond. I had a party just after Christmas to celebrate getting the all-clear and there were lads from Walterstown, Nobber, Dunboyne, Dunshaughlin and loads of other clubs at it to offer support. “Everybody was phenomenal in the whole GAA community. The reaction I got from the local media was so supportive and I remember Brendan Cummins from LMFM interviewing me after the league final and he was just so happy to see me. “Everyone knows somebody who has been affected by cancer and the GAA family is so great. There is nothing only goodwill and support,” he added.

“Being involved with Blackhall Gaels is what really kept me going during that period of my life and winning that league title was the happiest time for me; without the GAA and my club, I’d have been lost. I’m forever indebted to them, the GPA and everyone that gave me great support. When you cross the white line, you’d die for your team, but off the pitch it is such a brilliant community.” The former Meath player went on: “It was tough on my own family to watch me go through cancer. I said to them at the time that I was glad that it was me that got cancer and not any of them because I would have hated to have seen any of them go through it. “It is a lot worse for a parent. For my mother to watch her youngest son be diagnosed with cancer and not be able to do anything about it was tough for her. All she could do for me was cook a dinner or bring me here or there or bring me to the hospital, but I really appreciated that.

“There was nothing anybody else other than the doctors and nurses could do for me, but the whole family helped me, everyone was there when I needed them. They knew when enough was enough, they ensured I always had my own space.” He said there were times when he couldn’t even read or write or send or read a text. “They were supportive in the hospital and were with me all the time; the big thing from this for me is that I am a lot closer to my family,” he said. When Nestor was diagnosed with testicular cancer in August 2014, he was in the process of starting a new job. He was expected to move to Kerry to take up a post with the Kerry Group and his future was looking very bright.

Then the dark clouds rolled in. The job had to be put on hold - thankfully the Kerry Group held his position open for him until he recovered - as did his footballing life. Nestor played for Meath just as his brothers Nigel and Paul did. As a minor, he was regarded as one of the finest young players in the country and while he did make the breakthrough onto the senior team, he was afflicted by injures that cut short his service. However, Nestor still has hopes and dreams of pulling on the green and gold jersey again. He believes it may only be a “pipe dream”, but he believes in aiming for the stars; any thing less is just a waste of precious time. “I have a whole new outlook on life now. I’d love to play for Meath again, but to be honest I know that is a bit of a pipe dream. I’m 26 years-old now and I’m moving to Kerry. Plus Mick (O’Dowd) is looking towards younger lads, and rightly so, and a certain style of football so best of luck to them with it,” said Nestor.

“If the opportunity ever came again to pull on the Meath jersey, then I’d grab it. That is what I will strive towards because if you have nothing to strive to, then you will never be the best. “It is the same in work. I don’t want to just come into work and sit there and go through the motions, I want to get better and move up the chain, I want to be the best. “I can’t wait to get back to football and to get back working,” he said.

While cancer hasn’t diminished Nestor’s love for football, it has completely changed his outlook on life. He readily admits to being a different sort of character pre-cancer, but now he believes that cancer has brought him down to earth with a bang, and that can only be a good thing. “It is a bit cheesy and clichéd to say that it has changed my entire outlook on life and sport, but it really has. Cancer has a way of humbling you and it humbled me in the right way,” he said.

“It also gave me a great confidence and strength, so in areas where I needed to be more respectful and understanding of people, it certainly grounded me and I think I’m a much better person for it. “If I was to go through it all again knowing the way I would be coming out of it, then I would do it again because it has made me much stronger and much more understanding of the right things in life. “I now enjoy life. Sitting home on a Sunday afternoon with my mother used to be a rare thing and not something I did, but now being able to do that is brilliant,” said Nestor, who continues to stress the importance of men getting themselves checked out by the GP at the first sign of any worry