Brazil football legend Pele said that he feels "strong" and has "a lot of hope" as he receives hospital treatment in his battle with colon cancer.
The Brazil icon is reacting well, and his health has not deteriorated in the last 24 hours, according to the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo on Saturday, as Skysports.com reported.
As Skysports reported quoting reports from the Brazilian daily newspaper Folha de S.Paulo that said "Pele had been moved to palliative care and was only being treated for symptoms such as pain and shortness of breath."
In September 2021, Pele received a bowel cancer diagnosis. He had a respiratory infection, which led to his hospitalization on Tuesday where his cancer therapy was reviewed.
He has been in the hospital since Tuesday for a "reassessment of chemotherapy therapy" of his colon tumour.
"He is still having treatment and remains stable," the hospital was quoted as saying by Skysports.
"I want to keep everyone calm and positive. I'm strong, with a lot of hope and I follow my treatment as usual. I want to thank the entire medical and nursing team for all the care I have received. I have a lot of faith in God and every message of love I receive from you all over the world keeps me full of energy. And watch Brazil in the World Cup, too," the statement was posted on Pele's official Instagram alongside a message which said.
Following the assessment, it was determined to transition Pele to palliative or end-of-life care. Palliative care entails offering medical support and physical comfort to people with life-threatening or terminal illnesses. Pele is 82 years old and his condition is said to be stable.
Pele scored 77 goals in 92 international games as the top scorer for the Brazil national football team. He was the only player to do so, winning the FIFA World Cup three times in 1958, 1962, and 1970. When Pele was just 17 years old, he won his first football World Cup as per the Olympics website.
Pele, who was 17 years and 239 days old, made history by scoring the first goal in a World Cup during the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden. The record is still intact.
Pele, a legendary football player who was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on October 23, 1940, is one of the best ever. In 2000, FIFA honoured him with the Player of the Century award.France striker Kylian Mbappe on Saturday tweeted, "Pray for the King."
Throughout his career, Pele scored almost 1,200 goals. More than 1,000 of them came for Santos, the Brazilian football team Pele played for from 1956 until 1974.
Pele made three trips to India. He first arrived in India in 1977 for a friendly match against Mohun Bagan in Kolkata while playing for the New York Cosmos club. It was the second-to-last game of Pele's career. Later, in 2015 and 2018, he paid two additional visits to India as a guest for events.
( With inputs from ANI )
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