Laurent Fignon has cancer...

reported by Lance Armstrong on his Twitter page. One of the all-time greats. Sad news, I hope there are some good prospects for treatment.

over 2 years ago plinytheelder 21 comments 0 recs |

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OK, now there is a story at Le Parisien. Link. “LF reveals [on a tv show] that he is suffering from an ‘advanced cancer,’ but does not say it’s related to taking doping products.” Seems a bit disrespectful to move directly from cancer to doping…anyways the story continues:

“Cancer has been detected in my digestive tract [voies digestives?]. They don’t know where exactly. It’s bad news,” declared Fignon, 48, who speaks about his career and doping in the peloton in a book entitled “We were young and carefree,” forthcoming from Grasset.

“My cancer is an advanced cancer, because it has produced metastases. It’s certainly in the pancreas. So I don’t know how long I have left to live. We don’t know what’s going to happen. But I’m optimistic. We’ll fight and we’ll win this battle.”

Asked about the link between his illness and doping…Fignon responded: “I’m not going to say that it played no role. I have absolutely no idea. It’s impossible to say yes or no. According to the doctors, apparently not.”

“I explained frankly to the doctors what I’d done during my career, they told me it can’t be that, that explanation is too simplistic. Also, there were dozens of us [Et puis il y avait des dizaines? – can’t exactly make sense of this], because in my time, everyone did the same thing, just like today, everyone does the same thing.”

“We don’t have any hindsight on doping,” the former racer emphasized. “Can we be sure that it didn’t do any harm? It’s impossible to say. To be sure that all those who lived through 1998, when there were many exaggerations [I suppose this means: when there was so much doping, and in such huge quantities], won’t develop cancer in 10 or 20 years, I have no idea. We’ll know later.”

by plinytheelder on Jun 11, 2009 3:24 PM EDT reply actions

…and now at L’équipe.

by plinytheelder on Jun 11, 2009 3:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Very sad news

Pancreatic cancer is not good news at all.

by Monty. on Jun 11, 2009 4:16 PM EDT reply actions

metastasized in the pancreas.... not good... not good at all

"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind

by umwolverine on Jun 11, 2009 4:17 PM EDT reply actions

by the time cancer can be diagnosed in the pancreas, not much time is left

my mom died from this…. diagnosed in may 2001, passed nov 2002

"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind

by umwolverine on Jun 11, 2009 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Cancer Treatment in England

Fignon should try www.doveclinic.com in England

by DrThomasJLewis on Jun 11, 2009 4:22 PM EDT reply actions

Or perhaps a clinic that does not rely on woo woo

Bork, bork, bork!

by TheFigurehead on Jun 11, 2009 4:31 PM EDT up reply actions

You should only comment if you have knowledge.

by DrThomasJLewis on Jun 12, 2009 7:22 AM EDT up reply actions

What makes you think he hasn't?

Seems to me, speaking from my intimate knowledge of the scientific method, that you just spammed us with a link to a bunch of dangerous quacks.

by tedvdw on Jun 12, 2009 7:44 AM EDT up reply actions

Have you investigated their web page or their publications? If not, please do first before providing further comments. That is the scientific method.

by DrThomasJLewis on Jun 13, 2009 11:25 AM EDT up reply actions

Shit.

One of the greats. Doesn’t sound good but I’ll hope against hope that he pulls through somehow.

by ursula on Jun 11, 2009 5:01 PM EDT reply actions

yup

and one of the best climbers in the history of climbing. I read this recently, thought I’d share it, it gives some indication of just how good Fignon was. It’s a story from Rouleur (issue 9), on l’Alpe d’Huez, by Graeme Fife. At the very end, he talks about LeMond and Hinault, and then switches to Fignon:

And now consider what another young buck had dished out to his erstwhile boss. Laurent Fignon had ridden with [Hinault] in the 1983 Tour and impudently won the race. The following year, Hinault tried everything to beat the Parisian, most spectacularly on the stage to l’Alpe d’Huez. Smarting at his lack of form and Fignon’s arrogant superiority, he attacked furiously, recklessly, again and again. Fignon (heading for his second win) was magnificently unperturbed. His suave verdict on Hinault’s tactics? “I don’t know what the effort cost him. Personally, I thought it comical.”

Damn…how strong do you have to be to call Hinault’s efforts “comical”? What a rider.

by plinytheelder on Jun 11, 2009 5:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Pancreatic? Ugh

That is bad, bad.

by Markk on Jun 11, 2009 5:32 PM EDT reply actions

"Silent KIller"

Usually by the time it’s detected it’s too late.

Took my Grandmother and my Father-In-Law.

Nasty Shit.

by johnw on Jun 11, 2009 6:14 PM EDT reply actions

48?

Tragic

sometimes life is a false flat

by Willj on Jun 11, 2009 6:51 PM EDT reply actions

Panache

My favorite anecdote of Fignon’s superiority was when he won his first Tour. Being sponsored by Renault they gave him the best French car made at the time. He traded it in and bought a Ferrari.

by atmas on Jun 11, 2009 6:54 PM EDT reply actions