FORMER Swindon Town and Wales footballer Paul Bodin has revealed he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. 

The 59-year-old scored the decisive 84th minute penalty to take the Robins to the Premier League in their play-off final victory over Leicester in 1993, during the second of his two spells at the County Ground.

He also had a four-year international career for his country. 

But this week, Bodin said that after being first alerted to a possible issue by a routine test in April, a biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of the potentially life-threatening disease. 

"It's tough to talk about. But it's something that I think I've got to get the message out about," he told BBC Wiltshire. 

Bodin said that he received an annual PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test every year and in April of this year he was a little higher than it should have been. 

After being re-tested and returning normal results, Bodin returned for a third test in August where it was quite high again. 

"The local NHS surgery, Ridge Green Surgery, which has been brilliant throughout this, sent me a scan and unfortunately the scan showed the prostate was enlarged and there was a good chance it was cancer.

"So then it was a case of having a biopsy. And of course all this time you're waiting and all sorts of things go through your mind, but you always think it's not me.

"But in this instance, the biopsy proved that it was cancerous. But I had my meeting last Monday and the prognosis was good, that it can be removed and also it can be treated."

Bodin began coaching the Wales Under-21 side in 2019 but stepped down last year, but he has maintained a strong connection with Swindon throughout.

He told the BBC that he "has to be strong with all the people around him" and that he intends to carry on living as normal. 

"You've just got to live your normal life, as I said I've got no symptoms so I'm playing golf once or twice a week, coming to the County Ground to watch some great football this season, going to Oxford down the road to see Bill [son Billy Bodin] as well."

Paul's final message was to encourage people to also go and get checked. 

"It's a simple blood test, you go to your local surgery and say you would like a PSA test and you're in and out in two minutes.

"Within a couple of days, the results came through and as I said that's exactly where I was back in April so that was the first sign and I thought that won't be me.

"It's amazing, I feel absolutely fine. It's difficult to talk about obviously but the message from me is please, please go and get checked."