In December of 2017 news broke Tough Enough winner Matt Cappotelli cancer had reached an inoperable stage. And now his wife just provided a disheartening update.
Lindsay Cappotelli shard on he blog that her husband will discontinue treatments as doctors believe they have done all they can. Here’s the bulk of her post:
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“Here’s where we’re at right now: Matt finished his radiation treatments last week. Did they help? I don’t know. He’s sleeping a lot more. Having trouble chewing and swallowing. Not eating much. Not talking much, at least not in full sentences. It’s just been a slow, steady decline for the last few months. I think it was really too late for radiation….But who knows, maybe it is delaying things.
We went in last Tuesday for his infusion and talked with his neuro-oncologist about everything that we’ve been seeing with Matt, and he decided that we’re at the point now where we should discontinue treatments…I feel like it’s the right decision, even though it breaks my heart knowing that there is nothing else we can do. But I feel like we’ve done everything. All the supplements, the diet, the chemo, the radiation…
Matt has fought hard. He never gave up hope. He kept the faith. He never complained through any of this. Not once did I hear him say, ‘Why me?’ He still always thought of other people above himself, and anyone who knows him will tell you that. He is a true warrior.
It’s hard to know how he feels about discontinuing treatment, because he can’t communicate in full sentences most of the time. I know that it has to be hard for him though, because like me, he’s kept the hope that there would be something that would help him survive this. I know that he wanted to keep fighting. The only thing he did manage to say to me that day about not continuing treatment was, ‘It sucks.’ Yeah, it does. While sometimes I may have eloquent words to say about this situation, other times that’s the best way to describe what we’re going through – it just sucks.”
You can read Lindsay’s full post here. And if you’d like to get involved you can pitch in at Lindsey and Matt’s GoFundMe page.
Alongside John Morrison, Cappotelli won the third season of Tough Enough in 2003. He drew a ton of interest from fans when he was concussed and bloodied during a stiff match with Tough Enough trainer, Hardcore Holly. Cappotelli made a few WWE appearances on Raw and Heat after winning the competition before heading down to OVW (which is now NXT) to develop his skills.
On November 9 at an OVW television taping, Cappotelli captured the OVW Heavyweight Championship by defeating his former tag team partner, Johnny Jeter. WWE was planning to bring Cappotelli up into the main roster, but he was diagnosed with a grade 2/3 astrocytoma in December 2005. In early 2006, he announced the brain tumor was indeed cancerous and surrendered the title to OVW owner Danny Davis during an emotional speech at a television taping in Louisville, Kentucky.WWE’s official website later posted an article, which included Cappotelli releasing a statement on his condition.
We will keep you posted on Cappotelli’s condition. We wish the best to Matt and his family.
