Rockies' Bettis declared cancer-free
Two months after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, 2017 got off on the right foot for Colorado Rockies right-hander Chad Bettis.
“I feel great. I got an early Christmas present,” Bettis said Wednesday in an interview on SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio, according to The Denver Post's Patrick Saunders. “On Dec. 22, the doctor told me told me that I’m cancer free. So I’m ready to push forward.”
Bettis had surgery on Nov. 29 to have a testicle removed after the cancer was discovered. Following his latest results, he'll only have to undergo a blood test every three-to-six months.
Fortunately, he didn't have to undergo chemotherapy, radiation or any other major treatment.
The 27-year-old vividly remembers when he discovered the lump in November.
“The growth was no bigger than a grain of rice, and that’s the scary thing about it,” he said. “There was about an eight-to-12 hour window where I was wondering if I should do or say anything.
“I told myself, ‘If I feel it again in the morning, then I will say something.’ Even then I was very optimistic that it wasn’t going to be anything to this extreme.”
After his diagnosis, Bettis was forced to undergo the surgery, as the cancer was isolated to one area.
“It did not affect my ability to have children in the future, and that’s a blessing,” he said.