Long-time ESPN college basketball commentator Dick Vitale is cancer-free, announcing the news after a six-month battle with the disease. The good news comes just before the annual hoop fest March Madness kicks off.
Vitale is temporarily unable to use his iconic voice, as he underwent several rounds of chemotherapy and recently had surgery on his vocal cords. The college hoops legend was told by his medical team that PET scan results revealed no cancer is left behind.
“It was such a fantastic feeling when I received the text,” Vitale told USA TODAY Sports. “At first, I was a nervous wreck when the text arrived from the head of my cancer team, Dr. Rick Brown on the results from the PET scan I had. He stated that the scan showed that everything was clear, but we are going to do two more chemo treatments to make certain that the cancer is gone.”
Amid this update on his health, Vitale is ecstatic to get back to doing what he loves most – calling games as only the legendary ‘Dickie V.’ could.
“This was the start of my March Madness,” he continued. “Now I get to cut nets down and get my voice back as I have a big examination in Boston later in March. Getting back my ability to speak would be my national championship!”
Vitale also took to Twitter to share his excitement with all his followers, thanking them for their continued prayers:
After claiming his own ‘W’ ahead of the big dance, an emotional Vitale shared his feelings about it by telling USA TODAY Sports he’s been “crying my eyes out” due to his inability to communicate the way he normally would. However, he’s been using a whiteboard to talk to people in public and texting and tweeting a lot.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski coached his final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium this past weekend, and Vitale said not being able to be there ate his heart out. Yet, the 82-year-old put together a well-thought-out letter to pay tribute to college basketball’s all-time winningest coach. Krzyzewski texted Vitale on gameday saying he was with him in spirit.
“It has been awesome getting text messages, videos, and daily prayers from the basketball community,” Vitale told USA TODAY Sports. “They all let me know that they are praying for me and that’s helping me victorious in the fight I am waging.”
In a tweet Tuesday leading up to his PET scan, Vitale noted that he was sharing his journey so people could see what most cancer patients deal with.
He concluded with an emphatic message.
“WE MUST BEAT CANCER.”
