Tagged With "Cancer"

I'm one of those longtime readers here who's never posted a question or comment. But I was reminded recently that the stories we share and the advice they solicit help more than just ourselves so I'm writing today about a topic I haven't seen discussed. It's an important one for every parent of a young man: testicular cancer. I'll keep the background brief and get to the question. My son is a 2020 RHP. He made varsity as a sophomore and had a great year, emerging as their closer and taking...

Don’t answer questions that aren’t asked. But always be honest. If anything about his routine needs to be explained away be honest. Definitely emphasize effort and character in coming back. Good luck.

First off, I'm vey happy for your son and his recovery and thanks for the story and advice! I usually agree with most of what RJM says, but in this case, perhaps you should take pride in your son's situation and consider it an advantage as a battle of perseverance and determination. After all, your son was not able to be seen last summer, so for many schools, he's not on their radar. If your son is interested in particular schools, now is the time to start emailing them to start a dialogue.

Thank you for sharing your son's story. I'm sincerely happy to hear that he's doing so well. One of my son's close high school friends and teammate was diagnosed with Leukemia during his senior year of high school. He has really been through hell, but he took the mound for Maryland for the first time last spring after missing 3 baseball seasons. I get emotional just thinking about it. I would imagine this experience has forced your son to mature far beyond his years. My only advice would be...

I agree with CTBBALLDAD. Tell the story. It explains the loss of time and builds interest. I think you use it as a positive and not a negative. I think any coach would want to give him an extra look just because of his experience. They may ask questions but at least they are talking to you. Wish him well. Also encourage him to share his story with others. Great for him and good for someone else.

I can speak to a little of this - First off, I am thrilled that your son is doing well! Always good news to hear when someone perseveres. My son has Crohns' disease and has been getting regular IV infusions every 6 weeks since he was 8 years old. Due to this disease, he will most likely never be a "heavy" kid. He is a RHP - 6'0, 160. He lost 7 pounds in a month at the end of junior year high school baseball season during a rather grueling flare. It took a while for him to put that weight...

Most important thing is your son caught it and seems to be doing well. That's wonderful news. In my opinion, you and your son should do what feels right and works best for your family. I would tell you that one of my son's current college teammates has a line in his bio that says he's a cancer survivor.

What were your son's measurables before the diagnosis? How hard was he throwing and what level was he interested in playing at?

I guess I have a little different view on this. Your primary question was how to address it with college coaches (in the recruiting process). RC's are looking for guys who can play. That is where any dialog will begin with them. When/if conversation steers in a direction that his experience with cancer becomes relevant, then discuss it with the points of pride you and others have rightfully mentioned. I'm not saying this as if it is something that should be hidden - it shouldn't. It's just...

Thanks to everyone for the good wishes and thoughtful replies. I really appreciate the points some of you made about letting him take the lead on how to share his story. That's great advice. His coaches have suggested that while college programs might be put off, many will find his experience with overcoming adversity appealing. Mental toughness and character can be hard traits to measure. on the question from PABASEBALL, last spring his fastball was sitting at 83 mph. In terms of his...

Hats off to your young man! I’m so happy to hear that he’s on his way back to full health. I can’t see any coach not recruiting him because of his experience with cancer. If so, he probably wouldn’t want to play for that guy anyway. Your son is an inspiration and I wish him the very best this season and beyond.

I might be inclined to agree with his coaches. Some schools might be put off for fear of health issues down the line. Not much you can do about that. Which is why I would let your son's play speak for itself and when it comes up it comes up. I'm sure there are some coaches who might see it as a positive. Hey look how well this kid is performing and he's just getting back into it. I think you have some good advice from RJM and Cabbage. Don't lead with it, but I would not shy away from it if...

Thank you for this. Your son sounds pretty damned impressive. My son will be glad to hear his story.

BTW 2019 RHP Josh Cohen is a UCONN commit and cancer survivor.

Good luck. Good he caught is early. I'm also currently battling testicular cancer but unfortunately it wasn't caught as early. It is still curable much much tougher and higher risk now for me with at least two surgeries pending. Didn't notice it until i had back pain. I think he just needs to get healthy now then he can worry again about baseball.

Wow. I'm so sorry to hear that. Some people get out of it with only one surgery, but we weren't quite that lucky. Fortunately, there are lots of effective treatments. One of the people who emerged as a survivor after our son was diagnosed was a young guy who had played college ball and coached in a program where my son played for a while. He didn't catch it until it was pretty far along, so surgery wasn't an option, but the chemo regimen was very effective. A year+ later and he's feeling...

Thank you all again. It really is helpful to have this much experienced insight. It's hard for our son (okay, and me, too) to stay patient and take it slowly. We'll see how things go from here. Fortunately, he's got a good summer team lined up with a coach who knew him well enough to save him a roster spot without doing the fall tryout. If he can stay on his current course, summer ball could be good. We just won't have the kind of immediate track record/measurables to share and get coaches...

I'm so glad your son is healthy! As an aside, my former neighbor had testicular cancer in college. He's 50 something now with 5 kids and very healthy and happy. Good luck to your son.

I wanted to revive this thread to share some news. Earlier this week, my son committed to a terrific D1 mid-major that's a great match for him. It happened 12 months almost to the day after the doctor visited us in his hospital room to say the surgery had succeeded and there were no further signs of cancer. It's been amazing to see him recover and reclaim his pitching career and I'm grateful for this community. Your advice on this thread and others has always been enormously helpful, even if...

Amazing, that's great news to hear, thanks for sharing D2020. Congratulations to your courageous son!

Fantastic.

Great News! Congrats and best of luck to your son.

This is awesome! So glad to hear news like this in today's world. Best of luck to all!