Pittsburgh running back James Conner, who was named the ACC Player of the Year last season, just revealed that he has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. And while he was only diagnosed with it about a week ago, he said that he is already planning to fight it as hard as he can in a statement he released this afternoon.
“When I heard those words—‘You have cancer’—I admit I was scared,” he said in the statement. “But after thinking about it for a bit, I realized that fear is a choice. I choose to not fear cancer. I choose to fight it, and I will win. One year ago today, I was asking myself, ‘Why me?’ Why was I the lucky one to be getting the ACC Player of the Year award when I had so many teammates who deserved it as much as me? Now one year later, instead of asking, ‘Why me?’ I am saying, ‘Why not me?’ I can beat cancer.”
Conner acknowledged that he has stage 2 Hodgkin's lymphoma and that he has tumors in his neck and chest. He will begin treatment early next week and doctors have told him that the cure rate for his cancer is between 85 and 95 percent.
Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com.
[via ESPN]
