Plymouth Argyle keeper Romain Larrieu believes overcoming cancer has made him a stronger person.
Shot-stopper aims to get to 400 appearances
Plymouth Argyle's French goalkeeper Romain Larrieu believes overcoming cancer has made him a stronger person.
The 32-year-old shot-stopper, who made his 200th appearance for the Pilgrims in the 2-1 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday, was diagnosed with testicular cancer two years ago.
He told
skysports.com that his personal battle with the illness has made him change his view on life.
He said: "It makes you weaker when you find out because you lose confidence, as ultimately you come face to face with death.
Not easy
"That's not an easy thing to deal with, especially at such a young age, as I was only 30 when I was diagnosed.
"You just don't expect to have to deal with that at such a young age, especially in the job I have where you need to feel invincible so that you can go out on the pitch and perform.
"It wasn't easy, but it has made me adopt a different outlook on life and a more positive attitude, so I hope it has made me a stronger person."
The Frenchman wants to make up for lost time and believes he can double his current tally of appearances for Plymouth, whom he joined in 2000.
"I've had my fair share of troubles, especially in the last two seasons when I've had to face cancer twice, so it's held me back slightly in terms of the amount of games I've got under my belt, but 200 is still a good tally.
Looking forward
"I'm looking forward to adding more to that and I'm feeling great at the moment.
"In terms of goalkeepers I'm quite young, so why not play another 200 for Argyle?"
The Pilgrims face strugglers Nottingham Forest on Saturday hoping to make it three wins on the trot, but Larrieu knows that will not be easy.
"It would be great to win on Saturday, but getting three wins on the trot in the Championship is no mean feat," he said.
"We need to settle something on Saturday, as our home form has been unacceptable.
"Over the last nine months we've had such a big overhaul in terms of personnel change that we are still finding our feet and the earlier we get wins on the board the quicker the team gels."
