30.03.05 JOE'S BID TO BEAT CANCER FOR GOOD Singing star Joe Longthorne is to undergo a bone marrow transplant in a bid to eradicate his cancer for good. Doctors have found a donor match for the Hull-born singer and hope to be able to operate by the end of the year. If the transplant goes well, it will end a 17-year hell during which Joe has been treated for cancer five times. The 49-year-old decided to have the operation following a meeting with a hospital consultant in Manchester. His tour manager Zeb White said: "Joe's apprehensive about the transplant because it's unchartered waters for him, but he hopes he will then be cured. "He will then be able to live a normal life for the first time in many a year." Joe completed a gruelling 24-week course of chemotherapy last month and his leukaemia - a cancer of the blood cells - is in remission. Last weekend, he even returned to the stage for the first time since the treatment ended to perform three sell-out shows in Blackpool, where he now lives. His body is free of cancer cells, but doctors at Manchester Royal Infirmary believe the disease could return if he doesn't have the bone marrow transplant. Mr White said: "He's like the old Joe again. "His hair is still quite short, but he's 12-and-a-half stone and has total strength and commitment. "However, the last two times his cancer has been pushed back it has returned more aggressively. Unless he has the transplant, there's the risk it could do the same again." The Anthony Nolan Trust found possible donors for Joe in Wales and Germany. Yet the closest match is expected to be from an undisclosed location discovered in the past few weeks. Doctors will run final tests over the next three months and the operation should take place before the end of the year. Joe will then need six to 12 months to recover, but there is a risk the donated bone marrow could reject his body and the transplant could fail. The star was first diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1988. He was given the all-clear in 1997 but two years ago the cancer returned in the form of leukaemia. Joe will need more chemotherapy before the operation to ensure his body is still cancer-free. back to top site design_navajo media