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Craig Sager undergoing new round of treatment after leukemia returns

Randy Belice / Getty

In a heartbreaking turn for beloved sideline reporter Craig Sager and his family, Sager's leukemia has returned. 

He was first diagnosed nearly a full year ago, and spent the ensuing 11 months battling the illness. His recovery process included multiple blood transfusions, chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, and was complicated by a bout of pneumonia that landed him back in the hospital after his initial release.

And yet, Sager fought through it, and found himself back on the sidelines for an NBA on TNT broadcast in Chicago on March 5. For him to have suffered a relapse, so soon after treading his long and agonizing path back to health, is an incredibly difficult reality to stomach. 

The Sager family is trying to stay positive. Here's a message they released regarding Craig's latest condition (which apparently includes the flu) and treatment program, courtesy of his fellow TNT sideline reporter, Rachel Nichols:

Sr. is battling his newest set of obstacles, but unlike the first time when everything was new, there is a blueprint in place and all focus is on one checkpoint at a time. Sr's leukemia returned last week and he is undergoing a treatment that will be much like this time last year when he got rounds of chemo and prepared his body for a bone marrow transplant. The flu was going around and he caught it, but he was able to get his fever down and got to go home for the day before he returns to outpatient treatment in the morning. Beating the flu is a main priority right now. There are constant changes as we learned from the last 11 1/2 months but we will try to keep you as up to date as we can. 

Thank you for all the Sager love. 

Sager said that during his first battle with leukemia, he never had a bad day mentally. Here's hoping he can maintain that same optimism and strength of will this time around. 

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