Ali Carter exclusive: 'I said I'll never worry about snooker ever again’ - Two-time world finalist on cancer recovery

Ali Carter has won five ranking titles and faced off against Ronnie O'Sullivan in two world finals but his biggest battles have come off the snooker table. The 43-year-old has been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and cancer during a career that has spanned three decades. And in the latest episode of The Power of Sport, Carter has detailed the impacts of those battles.

Ad Carter was an emerging player who had already made the quarter-final of the British Open when he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease back in 2003. World ChampionshipExclusive: ‘All I have is time’ – O’Sullivan on why he isn’t bigger than snookerAN HOUR AGO «When I was a young man, 20 years old or something, I just used to get chronic, chronic stomach pains, like literally bent over stomach cramps and not knowing what it was,» began Carter. «At the time, it was such a hard thing to diagnose.

So I was having these problems for months and months and months and losing a lot of weight, not being able to retain food, on the toilet all the time. And living with it, it was nothing short of hell.» Carter managed the disease by modifying his diet and cutting down on red meat, dairy, wheat and gluten, and made two trips to the World Championship final in 2008 and 2012 — losing on both occasions to Ronnie O'Sullivan — and collected wins at the Welsh Open (2009), Shanghai Masters (2010) and German Masters (2013). However, later in 2013, the then 33-year-old was diagnosed with cancer.

«I found a lump in my testicles and yeah, I just thought 'I better go and get that checked out',» said Carter. «To be honest with you, it's a whirlwind of emotions that go through your head. And at the time when you do get the cancer diagnosis, you can't process it.