ESPN’s Stuart Scott Battling Cancer for a Third Time
By Josh Hill
There are tough breaks and then there’s the inspirational life of ESPN legend Stuart Scott.
Scott remains one of the originals from the 90’s boom in popularity ESPN saw. Scott came onboard ESPN in 1993, just when Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick were making The Big Show the most watched sports show on television. But while his colleagues have come and gone, Scott had remained a common thread from the glory days of ESPN to the shallow and shady gossip rags lull it finds itself in now.
But while he’s a favorite among viewers of all ages, he’s had more than one road block along his journey to success. Back in 2002, Scott suffered severe damage to his eye when he was hit in the face with a football while covering the NEw York Jets training camp. But that injury was nothing compared to the horror doctors found while performing an appendectomy on Scott in 2007.
During the surgery, doctors found a malignancy that required an extra surgery to remove possibly cancerous tissue. Scott underwent chemotherapy and returned to the ESPN airwaves less than a month-and-a-half later and in the middle of his chemo. Scott was again diagnosed with cancer when doctors found small tumors in his small intestine.
After more chemo, Scott’s cancer went into remission in 2012 but doctors have told Scott that the cancer has come back and further treatment is required. Scott broke the news to the world via his Twitter on Monday.
What’s more amazing is that Scott made the announcement and then went on to host the 11pm SportsCenter as though it was business as usual. While is seems morbid to even suggest, but Scott’s cancer may be a blessing in disguise. Right in the thick of Lance Armstrong being shredded of all his credibility, the fight against Cancer needs a new face and that’s the face of Scott.
Nobody in the sports community has been more public and more fearless with their cancer treatment than Scott, and this is his third round with the disease. It hasn’t knocked him out yet, he’s still standing and millions of people around the world who are fighting the disease too now have a jubilant and jovial leader for their battle.
Cancer’s not something to take lightly, but if there’s a guy I want in my corner when it comes to grabbing the disease by the horns and giving it a swift kick in the nuts, it’s Stuart Scott.