Say it ain’t so, Dickie V.! Say it ain’t so!
Dick Vitale, a longtime college basketball analyst for ESPN, revealed Wednesday that he has been diagnosed with vocal cord cancer and that it will take six weeks of radiation in order to treat it.
“I plan to fight like hell to be ready to call games when the college hoops season tips off in the Fall,” wrote Vitale in a statement that was published on Twitter.
This is an update on my meeting today with Dr ZEITELS. Though I was disappointed with the pathology report, I plan on winning this battle like I did vs Melanoma & Lymphoma ! pic.twitter.com/pu61XJSm43
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) July 12, 2023
A member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the 84-year-old said in June that his “past issues on my vocal cords have returned” and that he would need “total voice rest for 6-8 weeks” to recover from a procedure July 11.
Vitale has been with ESPN from the beginning — literally — as he’s been with the four-letter network since the year it launched in 1979. Known as “Dickie V.” to hoops fans, he called ESPN’s very first college basketball broadcast. (RELATED: The Lillard-Trail Blazers Hardball Has Ratcheted Up After Portland GM Says They Could Wait ‘Months’ To Trade Damian)
Vitale was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2021, months after several surgeries to remove melanoma. On social media, Dickie V. chronicled both his treatments and recovery, publishing photos of hospital stays and doctor visits while also handing out inspirational tips that he recorded before being placed on voice rest. He announced he was cancer-free last year.
Here’s to a speedy recovery, Dickie V.!