'KEEP GOING'
‘My head has been like a circus’ says snooker star Mark Selby after wife’s cancer diagnosis and tragic death of friend
Selby revealed he almost took a break from snooker
MARK SELBY admits his “head has been like a circus” this year as he has dealt with off-table heartache and stress.
The Leicester Jester – a loyal family man – has been a rock for his wife Vikki as she underwent radiotherapy for breast cancer.
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Treatment began at the start of 2023 and continued as he reached the Crucible world final where he lost 18-15 to Luca Brecel despite hitting a 147 break in frame 16.
Vikki, mum to their nine-year-old daughter Sofia, is thankfully on the mend now, following positive mammogram and ultrasound tests, but still has to have annual check-ups.
She only decided to get checked out in the first instance after a close family friend Nina Webb was diagnosed with the disease a few years back and required chemotherapy.
Tragically, Nina passed away in January at the age of 44 when the cancer returned and spread to other parts of her body.
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Selby, 40, told SunSport: “At the moment, Vikki is doing well, she has had a yearly scan, which has come back fine.
“Her cancer, they caught it really early, so she didn’t have to have chemotherapy, just radiotherapy.
“She’s just on medication now for a minimum five years. So fingers crossed, touch wood, everything will be fine.
“One of our best friends sadly passed away a few months ago, who literally lived across the road from us. Nina was 44. A few years younger than Vikki.
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“We had done everything together since we had been in the village, the last 12-13 years. Going to shows, going out for meals, Christmas dinners together.
“Her husband Dave, who I play golf with, a lovely chap, has a 12-year-old daughter, which is absolutely heart-breaking.
“She is good friends with Sofia. We’re trying to be there for her as much as we can.
“Vikki has been struggling with that, bless her, as well as with her own scans.
“You hear about it all over the world, people getting cancer, you never think it’ll be you.
“But when it’s that close to you, it’s tough. It makes you put things into perspective.”
Selby, a four-time world snooker champion, will be in action next week at the Tour Championship in Manchester, facing Gary Wilson in round one.
The world No.5 refuses to blame his below-par performances this season on what has been going at home but adds: “Don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely not helped as my mind has been elsewhere.”
He said: “Anyone who goes through this will know it’s very difficult. But it makes you realise that you can’t take life for granted. You just don’t know from one day to the next.
“The last few months, not so much last year, my head has sort of been scrambled.
“I was saying to Vikki, I should probably have a little bit of a break.
“But then at the same time with my mental health, which I have suffered with in the past, she said: ‘If you stay at home and aren’t playing, what are you going to be doing?’
“I’d have probably sat at home thinking about everything. Which isn’t going to be good either.
“Coming to competitions gets you away, you see all the other lads on the Tour who are good friends, you chat to them.
“When I’m in the arena playing, when you’re at the table, in the balls and making a break, you can sort of switch off for that split second.
“It’s tough when you’re in your chair because sometimes you can be sat there for 20-30 minutes not having a shot. You can have things to think about it.
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“That’s when it’s been difficult for me. Because my head has been like a circus the last three or four months, probably a bit longer.
“Obviously you’ve got to try and keep on going, take one day at a time, just try and keep smiling. That’s the main thing.”
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