Luck hits twice for jobless man who won R17.5m lotto

Lady Luck smiled twice on a North West man battling cancer - he was successfully treated and he is a multimillionaire.

The player spent R45 on his ticket for the July 26 Lotto draw, winning R17.5-million.

"After seeing I had a winning ticket I drove back home and shared the news with my wife. She was in the kitchen and when I told her the news we both started crying."

Lottery operator Ithuba said the winner was diagnosed with cancer last year.

"After finding out I was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer I felt like my life was coming to an end.

"I started cancer treatment and all I could do was hope for the best," the winner told Ithuba.

Bad luck struck again on May 18 this year when he was driving to work.

"My work requires me to travel a lot and on this day I was on the road and suddenly my left eye was blurry and I was struggling to see the road.

"I consulted a doctor and he scheduled an emergency operation. Unfortunately, it was not a success and I lost all vision in my left eye," he said.

In June he received his last cheque from the company as his sick leave was depleted.

"I thought we were going to be destitute."

Then his luck changed.

A recent visit to the doctor revealed that he has been cleared of cancer.

"You can imagine my shock when the doctor said my blood count shows that there is no trace of cancer. I feel like I have been giving a new lease on life," said the winner.

The Lotto winnings will allow him to have another eye operation to help his sight.