Hartson fighting brain cancer

Former West Bromwich Albion striker John Hartson has been diagnosed with brain cancer.

The 34-year-old was given the news over the weekend after going to hospital suffering with horrendous headaches.

Tests were carried out at the Singleton Hospital in Swansea where Hartson was told the news and where he is believed to be starting a course of chemotherapy.

Doctors told him he had testicular cancer which has spread up to his brain. Today the player said he was upbeat, telling friends: "If anyone can beat this, I can."

A friend of Hartson's said: "He told me he had been complaining of having really bad headaches recently. It reached the stage where he felt something was seriously wrong so went to hospital on Friday.

"The doctors did a load of tests and decided to keep him in over the weekend. They have done every scan and test imaginable and diagnosed that he has testicular cancer which has spread up to his brain."