No flowers, no visits: Jörg Dahlmann (67) addressed his followers with an urgent appeal shortly before major surgery. "Please, please no visits! And don't send flowers either", the former soccer commentator wrote on Instagram from the University Medical Center Mainz. "Surgery will start soon", the host explained in an accompanying clip. "However, I have a request for you: No unannounced visits please." If any, these should be arranged with his partner Claudia. "And don't send flowers either, under no circumstances please. You would be doing me a big favor."
It will be "a difficult path", Dahlmann wrote in his post - but he is confident, "thanks to the best liver surgeon in Germany, Prof. Hauke Lang and his medical team". In his posting, Dahlmann also prepares his fans for a longer period of silence: "I will be spending the next period in the intensive care unit." Along with this, he expresses a wish that hints at the severity of the situation: "I wish all of this were in the past and I could participate in normal life with joy again." He feels fear, but is also optimistic at the same time. "The main thing is that there's light at the end of the tunnel!"
Why the surgery cannot wait
Behind the hospital stay is a serious diagnosis: Dahlmann was diagnosed with liver cancer - already the fourth cancer diagnosis of his life. He explained to "Bild" why the doctors don't want to lose any time: "The surgery is urgent because the cancer cells are multiplying rapidly in the diseased organ."
The procedure, which according to "Bild" was scheduled for Thursday, is delicate: The physicians want to remove the affected right lobe of the liver and hope that the left part of the organ will regrow and take over its functions. Afterwards, Dahlmann will spend several days in the intensive care unit.
He won't have to endure this time alone. His partner Claudia Pöhlmann (51) is accompanying him to the hospital. "I'm grateful to her for that. When I wake up from anesthesia, she will be at my bedside. That's a proof of love", he told the newspaper.
Four times cancer - and a genetic reason
Dahlmann's medical history goes back a long way. In 2005, he was diagnosed with colon cancer, followed by skin cancer and prostate cancer in 2016 - each time requiring surgery. Responsible for the recurring illnesses is the so-called Lynch syndrome, a hereditary predisposition that drastically increases cancer risk.
From his own experience, the 67-year-old derives urgent advice. "Fortunately, cancer was always detected early in my case and I survived", he told "Bild". "That's why I can only advise everyone: Go for regular screenings!"
"A crappy diagnosis"
Dahlmann made clear how much the latest illness is affecting him in "Mallorca Magazin". "At the moment I'm feeling so-so, of course. It's a crappy diagnosis, there's no need to sugarcoat it. It occupies you from morning to night", he said. While he is an optimistic person, the worry is present: "It's my fourth cancer diagnosis. At some point it's over. But I very much hope that this time it's still repairable."
In his Instagram post, Dahlmann thanks all those who have supported him up to this point. He also wants to apologize to those "I may have annoyed as a reporter. I always did my job with passion and joy. And reality TV was also tremendous fun for me. And I still have a lot planned for that."
