Jake Heasman was diagnosed with a brain tumour when he was two years old, leaving him visually impaired. He tells us how his experiences of cancer helped drive him on to sporting success.
My name is Jake, and I’m 18 years old. I currently play for England’s partially sighted senior futsal squad and can honestly say that I’ve been able to transfer some of the lessons that I’ve learnt from undergoing cancer treatment twice over to my daily and sporting life. In an odd sort of way, sports and treatment plans share a few similarities. As I’ve found out, you experience positive and negative periods, times that are undoubtedly hard, but despite the challenging situations you may find yourself in, there’s always someone who’s there to lend you some encouragement and support to help you through.
At two years old, I had two convulsions (seizures) and after an MRI scan, it was found that I had a brain tumour that was growing in size and would affect my vision for the rest of my life. Shortly after my diagnosis, I underwent a year’s worth of chemotherapy to try and prevent the tumour from growing even more. Fortunately, at the end of the year-long chemotherapy cycle, the tumour had stopped growing to the level that consultants wanted.
Like a lot of young children around the world, I loved football and would try not to let my sight prevent me from taking part, perhaps finding a link of resilience between playing football and the level of emotional strength involved in going through treatment. Sport and treatment periods can both be like a rollercoaster, with some occasional positive news providing motivation to continue during the toughest moments.
You experience positive and negative periods, times that are undoubtedly hard, but despite the challenging situations you may find yourself in, there’s always someone who’s there to lend you some encouragement.
At the age of seven, consultants found that the tumour had started to grow once again, and this led to another 18 months of chemotherapy. This time, being slightly older, I was able to understand what was happening. I tried my best to develop a positive mindset, alongside my family who were always there to support me, and motivate myself to get through treatment as best as I could. Again, I was lucky that I was able to complete treatment with a reduced tumour size and have had a lack of growth since.
Trying my hand at futsal
My love of football continued throughout this tough period and a new opportunity came my way. Through the Blatchington Court Trust, a charity for the partially sighted, I saw an advert for a Brighton and Hove Albion talent centre for those who are partially sighted, deaf or have cerebral palsy playing futsal.
Futsal was a game I’d never heard of but instantly fell in love with due to the court being smaller, meaning I could see the full length of the playing surface.
This was perfect for me as I’d started to become frustrated with grassroots football as the game started to expand to 11-a-side and the pitch was becoming too big for me to see everything that was going on.
The centre was the start of a potential pathway to play for an England senior squad and was a chance that I simply couldn’t turn down. It seemed to be the perfect fit and I was then fortunate to progress through to the Regional Emerging Talent Pathway and, six months later, into the National Emerging Talent Pathway. This is where young partially sighted, deaf and cerebral palsy players from across the country come together and try to show the England coaches they can perform at the highest level in the future.
I’d be lying if I claimed that I had no struggles at these camps, both physically and psychologically. But, through a huge amount of support from my family and coaches, I carried on harnessing the mental toughness I’d developed through my treatment.
However, my determination was really tested when COVID-19 hit and brought with it what seemed like an endless wait for more opportunities to prove myself. Subconsciously, I think that I drew upon the resilience I’d developed from the various treatments I’d been through to keep training and one day prove to myself that I was able to achieve anything if I broke into the senior squad.
Eventually, a chance presented itself where the senior and newly created development squad I was part of merged for a camp. I tried to perform to the best of my ability and once again, the determination I had inside of me, strengthened by knowing I’d come through two sets of cancer treatment, helped me in being selected to continue training with the senior squad.
An England international
In June 2022, I was selected to make my international debut against Spain – and, even in my first game for England, I had to draw upon large amounts of courage after misplacing my first pass! At the end of the competition, I was extremely fortunate to win players’ player of the tournament. In November, I was selected again, this time to play against Turkey, and although I suffered my first major injury in the process, it meant I’d now won six senior England caps, something I’m incredibly proud of.
So, did I ever expect to achieve any of this 16 years ago? Absolutely not! But if there’s one thing that my journey has taught me, it is no matter how uncomfortable the situation, it will only make you a stronger person.
From Contact magazine issue 99 - Summer 2023
