Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn reveals he has cancerHall of Fame outfielder Tony Gwynn will soon begin radiation and chemotherapy treatments for parotid cancer.
The cancer was discovered last month after the former Padres star had a third round of surgery since 1997 to remove a tumor on the parotid gland.
“I had surgery for a parotid tumor in 1997 and again three years ago and both those times there was no cancer,” said Gwynn. “But this time they found a malignancy. They took out three lymph nodes and did all the tests and the results showed cancer in the parotid.
“The doctors have told me they feel they caught the cancer early and there was not much of it there.”
The parotid is a salivary gland that pumps saliva into the mouth. Parotid tumors can result in facial nerve disorders.
Gwynn, 50, said he plans to return as San Diego State’s baseball coach. Gwynn has been the head coach at his alma mater since 2003.
“They say this is a slow moving but aggressive form of cancer,” Gwynn said Friday from his Poway home. “I’m going to be aggressive and not slow moving in treating this.”
Gwynn said he faces seven to eight weeks of five-day-a-week radiation treatments and once-a-week chemotherapy treatments.
“I go in Monday for a consultation and I hope to immediately begin the treatments,” said Gwynn, who became a first-ballot inductee into baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2007 after getting 3,141 hits and recording a lifetime .338 batting average in 20 seasons with the Padres.
Gwynn met Thursday with San Diego State Athletic Director Jim Sterk and told his players about the cancer Friday afternoon.
“The most important thing for Tony is to get healthy,” Sterk said Friday evening from Provo, Utah, where the Aztecs football team plays BYU today. “His goal is to be back for the start of the baseball season.
“Tony has been so much and means so much to San Diego State. I think I can speak for Aztecs past and present when I say we’re all with Tony. He wants to be back, I can’t wait to see him in uniform.”
Gwynn went to Houston last week to visit the famed MD Anderson Cancer Center for a second opinion and to discuss treatment options.
“You hope the second doctor will say, ‘Nah, they got it all wrong,’ but they confirmed what I really knew,” joked Gwynn, who expressed a wide range of emotions Friday while discussing his cancer.
“Seriously, I went to Texas fearing they might find more. But they said the diagnosis I got from Scripps was right on. And they said Scripps could treat it the same way they would.
“So given the option of being home and around the family and seeing the grandkids while I’m getting the treatment is the much better choice.”
Gwynn had been away from his Channel 4 San Diego television duties as an analyst on Padres telecasts since early August due to a back problem.
“I have three bulging disks and the back was painful and I couldn’t do anything because of that,” said Gwynn, who still needs a walker at times to move around.
“At one point I couldn’t walk. But the back turned out to be a good thing because it was while I was being treated for the back that doctors asked other questions.
“I see this as a blessing. The doctors have told me I am going to be OK. But this is time to change a lot of things. I’ve got to lose some weight and take care of my back so I can be there and enjoy my family.”
Gwynn said the parotid cancer is on the right side of his face from the bottom of his ear to the chin.
He is also concerned that the cancer could be linked to his career-long practice of using chewing tobacco.
“I haven’t discussed that with the doctors yet, but I’m thinking it’s related to dipping,” said Gwynn, who resumed the practice of using chewing tobacco after the first two surgeries.
Dr. Kevin Brumund, a neck and throat specialist at the UCSD Moores Cancer Center, said there have been no studies showing a link between parotid cancer and chewing tobacco.
“There is a wide spectrum of prognosis for the malignant parotid carcinomas,” said Dr. Brumund. “Most parotid tumors are benign. And the prognosis runs the spectrum.”
Gwynn said he had been trying to keep his cancer “secret” and was “pulling it off because of the back.”
“My back wasn’t letting me to do anything and was keeping me away from the ballpark and the TV booth, so it was pretty easy not to say anything,” said Gwynn. “Although the back is still an issue, it is getting better. Right now, the back feels good. I can stand up.
“But I had to be upfront with my team about the cancer.”
Gwynn played 20 seasons with the Padres from 1982 to 2001. He won a National League record-tying eight batting championships and was named to the All-Star Game 16 times.
Gwynn is one of 17 players in major league history to spend an entire career of 20 or more seasons with one team.
