Brazilian football legend Pele is receiving “palliative care” after he stopped responding to chemotherapy for colon cancer, Brazilian media reported.
The newspaper “Folha de São Paulo” said that the doctors stopped granting chemotherapy to Pele and placed him on a “palliative care” unit, where he is treated only for symptoms such as pain and shortness of breath. It is awarded for ‘palliative care’ to patients nearing the end of their lives.
The Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo refused to confirm reports of the deteriorating health of the 82-year-old Brazilian star.
Pelé has been moved to end-of-life care after he stopped responding to chemotherapy, reports @leaf pic.twitter.com/98TFIvvpRN
— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 3, 2022
And a medical report issued, Friday, showed that Brazilian football legend Pele was suffering from a respiratory infection, but his condition was still stable.
The Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo said that the 82-year-old legend will remain in hospital for the next few days to continue treatment, adding that Pele’s general health condition is improving.
“The medical team diagnosed a respiratory infection that is being treated with antibiotics. The response was good and the patient’s condition…stable with a general improvement in health,” the report stated.
Pele was admitted to hospital in Sao Paulo on Tuesday to re-evaluate his cancer treatment after the removal of a polyp from his colon in September 2021.
On Thursday, the former striker posted a photo on Instagram thanking his supporters for the positive messages he had received.
Ranked by many as the greatest footballer of all time, Pele has suffered from increasingly poor health in recent years.
And Pele is the only player in the history of round ball to win the World Cup three times (1958, 1962 and 1970), and scored more than 1000 goals before his retirement in 1977.