MLW Star Richard Holliday has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Holliday was speaking with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated and revealed that he’s battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma and is halfway through a course of chemotherapy to treat the disease.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” says Holliday, whose real name is Joe Zimbardi. “You never expect this will happen to you. I took such pride in my health, so to get news like this was quite shocking.”
Back in June, Holliday began experiencing bouts of night sweats that he described as being vicious. He said he was taking Dayquil to try and get through every day.
“When I wrestled Hammer in June, I was taking Dayquil to try to get through every day,” Holliday says. “I kept pushing and pushing, but I just felt off. At that point, I had just got home from California. The whole time I was there, I was freezing. I was pale white when I left after a month.”
Holliday initially thought he was suffering from a virus or stomach bug but once the match against Hammerstone ended, his conditioned continued to worsen.
In July he began suffering from severe dizzy spells which prompted him to head to the emergency room. His doctors thought anemic as his iron and hemoglobin were dangerously low.
“I was taking iron pills to try to counter that, but my levels kept dropping,” Holliday says. “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.”
When he was told he had cancer, Holliday said it was ‘”earth shattering”. He was reassured by his doctor that he could beat it. Holliday said his plan is not to lose to lymphoma and to inspire people.
“It was earth-shattering, devastating,” Holliday says. “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,” says Holliday, who is already halfway through his 12 rounds of chemotherapy. “I’m going to come out of this stronger, and I’m going to let people know they can beat it, too.”
I am going to beat cancer. https://t.co/qgNLdcMLmz
— Richard Holliday (@MostMarketable) December 6, 2022
Holliday has indicated that he is thinking about his return to pro wrestling “every single day”.
“I think about my return every single day,” Holliday says. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. But this is a process. I know there are more steps after chemotherapy. Mentally, right now, I am ready. Physically, I know it’s going to take some time. But I will be back.”
The entire staff at PWMania has Richard Holliday in our thoughts and prayers as he continues his fight against cancer.
