BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — Longtime college basketball analyst for ESPN Dick Vital said on social media that he was diagnosed with cancer for the fourth time.
Vitale announced Friday that a biopsy of a lymph node in his network showed cancer. He is scheduled to have surgery on Tuesday.
“With all the (prayers) I have received and the loving support of my family, friends and colleagues at ESPN, I will win this battle,” Vitale said on X, formerly Twitter.
Vitale, 85, has already been treated for melanoma and lymphoma. He also had six weeks of radiation treatments last year when tests revealed he had vocal cord cancer.
Vitale has been with ESPN since 1979, the year the network launched. The former coach called ESPN’s first college basketball broadcast. It also raises long-standing funds for cancer research.
Vitale helped friend Jim Valvano to the stage at the 1993 ESPYs, where Valvano gave his famous “Don’t Give Up” speech. Valvano died of adenocarcinoma less than two months later.
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