Eric Berry Diagnosed With Hodgkin's Lymphoma

((HT: KSHB-TV))

The Kansas City Chiefs made an announcement just before Thanksgiving that star defensive back Eric Berry had discovered a lump in his chest and would be out for the rest of the season.

Here was Chiefs head trainer Rick Burkholder at the time of the announcement
((HT: Kansas City Star))


And coverage from Fox4 in Kansas City that day


We now have a diagnosis of the lump- Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Emory University Hospital in suburban Atlanta released a statement this afternoon:

Doctors at Emory's Winship Cancer Institute in Atlanta have diagnosed Georgia native and Kansas City Chiefs NFL player Eric Berry with Hodgkin lymphoma after completing a medical work-up and thorough testing.

"This is a diagnosis that is very treatable and potentially curable with standard chemotherapy approaches," says Christopher R. Flowers, MD, director of the Emory Lymphoma Program at Emory's Winship Cancer Institute. "The goal of Mr. Berry’s treatment is to cure his lymphoma and we are beginning that treatment now.”

Berry also released a statement on his diagnosis:

“My family and I are very grateful for the amount of support we have received over the last couple of weeks. I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate all the words of encouragement, the blessings and well wishes. I want to thank the Emory University School of Medicine, along with Dr. Flowers and his team, for all of their hard work and effort in diagnosing and creating a plan for me to battle this thing. I will embrace this process and attack it the same way I do everything else in life. God has more than prepared me for it. For everyone sharing similar struggles, I’m praying for you and keep fighting!”

The Chiefs have started selling t-shirts that will benefit the Eric Berry Foundation and they can be purchased on the Chiefs website in the near future as they had only been available at Arrowhead Stadium until now.

Morning Wrap: Chiefs Berry Out With Possible Cancerous Mass in Chest

((ht: kcstar.com))

We wish Kansas City Chiefs Safety Eric Berry the best. And hope what he is dealing with is done and taken care of quickly.

Berry was put on the Chiefs non football illness list Monday evening after complaining to team trainer Rick Burkholder of pain in his chest area.

An MRI, along with a PET scan  found a mass on the right side of his chest which doctors believe may be a lymphoma (an immune system cancer).

Here's video from the Kansas City Star of Burkholder discussing what is happening:



Berry will head home to Fairburn in metro Atlanta area and be examined at Emory University Medical Center, one of the nations leading cancer research centers. Doctors are expected to do a biopsy once Berry is able to get back home.

Having covered Berry back in his days at Creekside High School and interviewing him while he played at the University of Tennessee, we can say that he truly is one of the classiest, well respected kids we ever covered. And we are quite sure that he will conquer this.

The soft-spoken Berry released a statement via the Chiefs website:

“I am truly thankful for all of the support from family, friends, coaches, teammates and the entire Chiefs kingdom. At first I was in shock with the diagnosis on Saturday and did not even want to miss a game, but I understand that right now I have to concentrate on a new opponent. I have great confidence in the doctors and the plan they are going to put in place for me to win this fight. I believe that I am in God’s hands and I have great peace in that. I know my coaches and teammates will hold things down here the rest of the season and until I am back running out of the tunnel at Arrowhead. I am so thankful and appreciative of being a part of this franchise and playing in front of the best fans in the NFL. I will be back!”

We also want to note--if you go to the Chiefs website to read the statement...the 1st comment on the page is from the San Diego Chargers and team owner Dean Spanos. A very well said offer of prayers and respect.

Fox4 Kansas City gives us the TV story:

Braves Broadcaster Pete van Wieren Dies At 69

Another voice of the HQ's youth has left us too soon.
Long time Atlanta Braves announcer Pete van Wieren has passed at the age of 69.

The "Professor"- nicknamed so for his encyclopedic knowledge of the sport and levels of preparedness- was a part of the Braves booth that spread the "Superstation TBS" across the country and turned the Atlanta Braves into America's team- even more so than WGN's Chicago Cubs during the battle of cable powers Tribune and Ted Turner.

The group of van Wieren, Ernie Johnson, Senior, Skip Caray, and then later Don Sutton and Joe Simpson were the voices of some very bad baseball but also got their shot when the Braves won their only World Series.

On November 4, 2009, van Wieren felt a bump on the back of his head; when he got it checked, he learned it was Stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He had been battling it ever since.

van Wieren retired from the Braves booth in 2005.

In October of 2008, Van Wieren announced his retirement after 33 seasons with the Braves. His departure came less than three months after the death of his longtime on-air partner Skip Caray.

During the 2008 season, Van Wieren announced that a publishing company approached him about writing a book about his time in the booth. His book, written in 2009, is titled "Of Mikes and Men: A Lifetime of Braves Baseball" and was released in April 2010. It was co-written with Jack Wilkinson.

The broadcast booth for the Braves' home games at Turner Field is named for van Wieren.

Here was "The Professor's" good-bye to his broadcast partner:

Texans Quessenberry Diagnosed With Lymphoma

((HT: CSN Houston))

The Houston Texans have announced that second-year tackle David Quessenberry has been diagnosed with lymphoma (Non-Hodgkins T Lymphoblastic Lymphoma, to be precise)- diagnosed last Tuesday, and has been put on the team's Non-Football Injury List.

GM Rick Smith issued a statement:

“Our medical community here in Houston is the best in the world. We are extremely confident in the care and treatment David will receive. He is a fighter and a courageous young man and we look forward to his full and complete recovery. We will continue to support him and his family and look forward to his return to the team.”

He's getting treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston

Here's an interview CSN Houston's James Palmer did with Quessenberry in his rookie season and Palmer is steadfast in his belief that this reinforces just how good a kid Quessenberry is