LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – In 2014, Todd Svoboda felt a bump on the inside of his knee that wouldn’t go away.

“I told Franci, my wife, I need to have this checked out. And I did. I went into UK. They quickly got me, and diagnosed me with Osteocarcoma. A very rare form of bone cancer,” said Todd Svoboda.

At 42-years-old, Svoboda began to fight a cancer that doctors typically only see in those in their teens and early twenties. But the former UK basketball player learned over the next 10 years, that he wasn’t alone in the battle.

“Knowing UK, and Big Blue Nation, it doesn’t surprise me.”

Svoboda played for Hall of Fame Coach Rick Pitino on the 1993 UK Final Four Team.

“It was a great season, just an incredible run.”

Sitting in front of a wall of mementos, it’s clear to see that as much as fans loved the team, Svoboda loved them right back.

“It means a lot, you know, it just touches your soul.”

And after a decade with a megaprosthesis on his right leg, Svoboda learned he’d be needing BBN’s support once again.

“I got a really bad infection late May.”

On Thursday, July 11th, Svoboda’s right leg was amputated above the knee. A devastating situation for Svoboda, his family, and the many who love him.

“We go back probably 20 years,” said family friend, Malcolm Jennings.

Malcolm Jennings heard the Svoboda’s were fighting the insurance company for a prosthetic leg that would ensure Todd could continue his active lifestyle as a father and an athlete. So he started the fundraising efforts.

“They’re wonderful people, Todd deserves everything,” Jennings said.

GP: After the surgery, Svoboda wasn’t sure he wanted to tell this part of his story.

“My oldest daughter is an ICU nurse in Charleston South Carolina, she came up the day before my surgery, and stayed with us at the hospital and here at home.”

Then, with his family by his side, he decided to share. In case his experience could help even just one other person.

“You just never know how it may touch somebody’s life,” Svoboda said.

If you’d like to help, or learn a little more, you can find a link to the GoFundMe here.

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