Alex Young Faces Stage Four Cancer Battle

Alex Young, the rugged former All White and Tauranga City AFC stalwart, is facing the toughest battle of his life – and this time, he cannot tackle it alone.

The 77-year-old has been diagnosed with stage four cancer, an "internal melanoma" that has spread to his liver, lung and chest. The treatment he needs is not fully funded, leaving friends scrambling to raise $50,000 to keep him on a drug they believe can give him a fighting chance.

A Shock Diagnosis

It started with a lump on his left groin. Young went to his doctor, was sent for tests at hospital, and the news that came back was brutal.

"It was a strange one, but I've consequently got stage four cancer on my liver, on my lung, and on my chest," he said.

He began on the immunotherapy drug Keytruda, staying on it for six months. Then the treatment stopped working. The next option was ipilimumab – a drug Pharmac funds for some cancers, but not for Young’s specific condition.

So the defender who once dominated penalty areas is now staring down invoices.

"I had my first procedure with that, which costs money, obviously. I think the first one was $10,400."

Four rounds of ipilimumab are required. He is due for his second treatment at Tauranga's Canopy Cancer Care on Wednesday.

From Scotland to the All Whites

Football has always been the constant in Young’s life.

He arrived in New Zealand from Scotland as a teenager, around 16, and worked his way through the grades. His game hardened, his presence grew. He became a standout for Hamilton City, lining up alongside names like Keith Nelson.

"Soccer is my sport and life, I suppose," he said.

Tall and uncompromising at around 6 foot 4, Young was a natural at the back. His performances against visiting English clubs – including Bournemouth and Luton Town – caught the eye. In 1977, he was rewarded with a call-up to the All Whites squad.

Later, he shifted into a dual role at Tauranga, becoming player-coach. Under his watch, the club went through an entire season unbeaten. In the Bay of Plenty football community, that team and that figure on the touchline are still talked about.

A No-Fuss Defender, A Heavy Burden

Tauranga City AFC life member Mark Bougen, who served on the club committee with Young in the 1970s, said the diagnosis came as a shock.

He remembers the player first, the presence second.

"You would call him a no-fuss football defender, a hard Scottish man," Bougen said. "When he played, he took no prisoners."

Now the battle is off the pitch, and the numbers are stark. A Givealittle page has been set up to raise $50,000, described by organisers as the amount needed "to give Alex the best possible chance" against the disease.

The page spells out the reality: the cost of unfunded treatment is "too much for one person or family to carry alone, especially while navigating the physical and emotional toll of a cancer diagnosis".

At first, Young hesitated. Pride, perhaps. Or the instinct of a man used to sorting out his own problems.

He only agreed when he saw how much work his friends had already poured into the campaign.

"When they came around to see me, they were so good and they had so many good ideas. I thought, well, if they're willing to go to this trouble, I'll try it."

By the time of writing, donations had reached about $2000. It is a start, not yet the finish line.

Young, who spent a career clearing danger for others, is now humbled by strangers doing the same for him.

"I'd like to thank them from the bottom of my heart. They're probably strangers. Thank you to them all."

A defender who once refused to take prisoners now waits, hoping the football community – and beyond – will refuse to leave him to fight this one on his own.