THE extraordinary career of one of Essendon's favourite sons, Adam Ramanauskas, will end this week, with the 27-year-old announcing his retirement yesterday.

In his nine years as an AFL player, Ramanauskas has earned a reputation as a brilliant footballer whose career was tragically curtailed by his struggles with cancer.

Ramanauskas returned to the game this season after overcoming a cancerous tumour in his shoulder — the second time he had beaten the illness in five years.

But the running half-back flanker has struggled to regain the form that established him as one of the league's most promising players early in his career. It was this struggle that led him to make the decision two weeks ago that this season would be his last.

"I just found myself in the position that I didn't want to hold the club back," Ramanauskas said yesterday. "I probably could have toughed it out for another year or two, but who's to say I would have been happy doing that?"

Ramanauskas was an integral member of Essendon's 2000 premiership side, distinguishing himself as a player with excellent skills and an instinctive ability to read the play. He was only 19 at the time.

But in 2003, Ramanauskas' life, and career, was brutally disrupted when he discovered a cancerous tumour in his shoulder. He had surgery and radiotherapy and confounded the experts by returning to football the following season, playing every game in 2004.

Associate Professor David Thomas, from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, said Ramanauskas' achievement in returning to football cannot be underplayed.

"It's a massive deal, particularly for an elite athlete," Thomas said. "To come back from the treatment he's had must have been a quite remarkable achievement on his behalf."

Ramanauskas was kept out of football again in 2005 after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament during a pre-season training drill, requiring a full knee reconstruction.

The following year, as he prepared to make his comeback, Ramanauskas' doctors discovered that the tumour had grown back, and he would need another round of treatment, including surgery and chemotherapy.

Again he fought through it and last year made an emotional return to football via Essendon's VFL affiliate the Bendigo Bombers, before being placed back on Essendon's senior list this year.

Essendon coach Matthew Knights yesterday paid tribute to Ramanauskas.

"He is a champion of this club — both as a person and as a player," Knights said. "His was an amazing journey to get back to playing AFL football."

Ramanauskas yesterday thanked the club for standing by him through his struggles, intimating that he may seek to work with the Bombers.

"Over my journey, they've been nothing short of amazing and for a club to do that for an individual like myself, I'm just so appreciative," he said. "I'd love to stay involved in football, and hopefully over the coming months I can maybe do that."

Knights was open to the idea of Ramanauskas returning to the club.

"Rama is a courageous person and is incredibly well thought of by the playing group, coaches and staff — I hope he continues to be involved with the club in the future," he said.