Former New York Rangers star Ron Duguay shares courageous cancer battle

Former New York Rangers star Ron Duguay shares courageous cancer battle originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Former New York Rangers hockey superstar Ron Duguay is fighting hard in his battle against cancer.

The NHL star, 68, who played for 12 seasons between 1977 to 1989, has been diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer and is trying every experimental treatment he can get his hands on in hopes of healing himself.

Duguay – who was last romantically linked to former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, 62 – initially kept his health battle private. However, he’s now facing some financial burdens due to his treatment costs, and has allowed his daughters to set up a GoFundMe to try to help alleviate some pressure. As of this writing, the family has already raised more than $124,000, or 60 percent, of their $200,000 goal.

“He does not like asking for help, even when I have to ask him about his finances,” his daughter, Shay Thomas, told “Us Weekly,” adding that Duguay was using credit cards to pay for treatment and “had nothing left” when his family resorted decided to ask for help.

“We spoke as a family and we said, ‘We need to make this GoFundMe. We gotta do everything we can. Because if we don’t, it’s going to kill you,'” Thomas recalled.

Ron Duguay plans to try alternative cancer treatments after starting GoFundMe

When he was first diagnosed, Duguay tried traditional cancer treatments like chemotherapy.

“I was just all in. Go hard, let’s hit this hard,” Duguay told the “Daily Mail,” adding that he was commuting between his home in Florida and California, where he was receiving his medical care.

He has already lost both his gallbladder and appendix during the battle and is now trying anything he can to try to beat the odds, including blood filtering ozone therapy and ivermectin – which has not been FDA approved to target the disease.

Duguay has also started experimenting with the drug methylene blue, a medication FDA approved for blood disorders, after hearing actor Mel Gibson promote the drug on an episode of the “Joe Rogan” show.

“He had friends, three of them [with] Stage 4, and they started doing methylene blue, all cured, all gone,” Duguay said. “So I’ve been doing methylene blue, I’m gonna do a little bit more now. I could do that probably minimum once a week.”

The former Rangers star is also considering traveling to a treatment center in Russia, Germany, or Mexico to have his diet and activity monitored. If he moves forward with this plan, he could also get hyperbaric chamber treatment or be shocked with electrical frequencies.

“Some of these things are not allowed in the United States yet, Duguay explained. “I think they’re going to have to be to keep up.”

The treatments overseas come with a hefty price tag. A 30-day stay in Mexico alone can cost between $40,000 and $50,000.

Ron Duguay’s daughter says he’s ‘very disappointed’ by lack of support from New York Rangers

Duguay’s daughter, Thomas, says the generous donations they’ve already received have taken a huge burden off of their family.

It wasn’t easy to ask for help, but it was necessary, she admitted.

“My dad never wanted to ever mention the stress of his finances,” said Thomas. “With his numbers jumping up again, we just felt as a family that we needed to reach out. And so many people were asking how they could help.”

She also claims that the former NHL veteran is “very disappointed” by the lack of support he’s received from his former team, the New York Rangers, during this difficult time.

“Over the past four years, the organization has hardly used him for any work or involvement, despite the fact that he served as an ambassador for the team for approximately 25 years and has given so much of himself to the Rangers throughout his career and long after retirement,” she said. “Given that history and loyalty, this has been especially difficult and hurtful for him during this time.”

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Former New York Rangers star Ron Duguay shares courageous cancer battle

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