Mid-way through last year, Collingwood great Anthony Rocca was consistently waking up in the middle of the night, much to his dismay.

It wasn’t just for any arbitrary reason though, for the 242-game star was in pain and struggling to sleep on his back.

“I had this pain in my back waking up in the middle of the night and it was for about a three-to-four-week period,” he said.

“I just felt like something was different, it wasn’t a thoracic soreness, it felt a bit more internal.

“I just knew something was off, so I sought a doctor.”

That he sought a doctor straight away was as courageous as anything that had come before in his life, on the footy field, or following his initial appointment.

Self-aware enough to admit he was in pain, and strong enough to want to do something about it, Rocca’s appointment would reveal a shock diagnosis, but was also the important first step in coming out the other side.

Learning he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma – a disease in which cancer develops through the body’s network of vessels and glands that affect white blood cells – Rocca was understandably jarred.

“When you initially get that phone call from a doctor saying that things aren’t great, it’s one of those phone calls that probably changes your life forever,” he said.

“My wife wasn’t home at the time and I had to call her over the phone, and that was probably one of the most difficult things I’ve done in a long time or forever.

“When you first hear that word cancer, it’s a word that you don’t want to hear that you’ve got.

“It’s a word that I try not to use very often, I try and use the actual illness that I’ve got which is lymphoma – non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“Luckily for me it was a type of lymphoma that was quite common and very curable, so I’m grateful for that.”

A few months down the track, and Rocca is on the improve. At this week’s Peter Mac Cup against Carlton, his story will be shown on the big screen pre-game, with fans encouraged to be in their seats by 7pm to hear his important message.

“My family’s been massive but in particular my wife – she probably takes the brunt of the worrying and things like that, but she’s been super and my kids have been awesome,” he said.

“Sport plays a major role in every aspect, and in my field, the footy people around me have been outstanding.

“When you get these sort of illness es you really see a support group evolve.

“There’s many people who have had cancers and unfortunately passed away from cancers and who are still battling cancers and if this game can be a little bit of a support to them, it’s amazing.

“I’m going really well, I’m back into full time work.

“I knew that I was coming through this cancer, I’ve always got this aspect that my glass is always half full.”