Richard Holliday has provided an update on his status as he is battling cancer.
While speaking to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, the MLW star revealed that he’s battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma and is halfway through chemotherapy.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” said Holliday. “You never expect this will happen to you. I took such pride in my health, so to get news like this was quite shocking.”
In June, he started experiencing a vicious bout of night sweats. His last match happened on June 23 when he challenged Alex Hammerstone for the MLW World Heavyweight Title in Falls Count Anywhere match at the MLW Fusion tapings.
The Details
Holliday recalled the match and noted he was taking Dayquil to try to get through every day. He said that he felt off, and when he got home, he was freezing and pale white when he left after a month.
In July, he experienced severe dizzy spells and went to the emergency room, where his iron and hemoglobin were dangerously low to the point doctors thought he was anemic. He began taking iron pills to counter that, but his levels continued to check.
“They checked if I had internal bleeding, which I didn’t, and then they ran a litany of tests and a scan of my body for a possible case of lymphoma in September. Those tests confirmed it was Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It was earth-shattering, devastating. But I knew right then I needed to change my mindset. The mind powers the body, so I needed to stay positive. I was reassured by my doctor that I could beat this, and I believe I am going to beat this. My plan is not to lose to lymphoma; my plan is to inspire people. I’m going to come out of this stronger, and I’m going to let people know they can beat it, too.”
Holliday stated that he doesn’t know when he will return to the ring but is adamant that he will beat cancer as he can’t stop thinking about making a return to in-ring action.
