Former footballer Kryszalowicz says he overcame colon cancer — Interia Sport

In Poland, former national team footballer Paweł Kryszałowicz said he overcame colon cancer after surgery and chemotherapy. Interia Sport reports on his battle with the disease.

Diagnosis in 2018

Kryszałowicz's malignant colon tumor became known about at the beginning of 2018. A fundraiser for his treatment was organized at the time, and a charity match was held in Słupsk featuring his Poland national team teammates from the 2002 World Cup. The Polish Football Association, PZPN, also declared its readiness to help cover the treatment costs.

The footballer underwent surgery to remove the tumor, followed by a course of chemotherapy. In a conversation with Przegląd Sportowy Onet in 2024, he said that he had defeated the disease, undergoes regular examinations and has returned to physical activity.

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Football career

Kryszałowicz was one of the players on the Poland national team that qualified for the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. In the match against the United States, which Poland won 3:1, he scored his team's second goal.

At club level, the striker played for, among others, Amica Wronki, Eintracht Frankfurt and Wisła Kraków. In the season before the World Cup, he scored 16 goals in the Bundesliga. Kryszałowicz now works as the director of Olimpia Grudziądz's football academy.

A common cancer

According to Poland's National Cancer Registry and National Health Fund, around 20,000 people in the country are diagnosed with colon cancer every year, and nearly 12,000 of them die. It is one of the three most common causes of cancer-related deaths in Poland.