INTERNATIONAL sports star and former Bayside Ravens player Jesse Williams has been diagnosed with cancer.
The 24-year-old Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle in the American NFL will undergo kidney surgery after he was diagnosed with Papillary Type 2 cancer.
The diagnosis is the latest and most serious of a string of health problems that has prevented the Australian, nicknamed 'Tha Monstar', from playing for the Seahawks in a regular NFL season.
Williams said he was disappointed with the news, but that he was "a fighter and will handle this".
"I am going to focus on my health and fighting this battle with a return to football as my ultimate goal."
He also took to Instagram with a philosophical tone, quoting Roman philosopher Seneca's saying: "Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men".
"I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders," he wrote in another post.
"Don't count me out, I didn't come this far and push myself to a comeback from previous injuries to let this stop me. I'll be right back."
Knee surgery kept Williams out of the past two NFL seasons, with hopes he would play in the 2015/16 season.
He signed with the Seahawks in 2013 and, despite being briefly dropped in March, was returned on a restructured contract.
The team's general manager, John Schneider, said the Seahawks would support Williams "in any way possible".
"Jesse is an extraordinarily tough individual who has overcome a great deal in his life," he said. "He is in our thoughts and prayers."
