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Chiefs' Eric Berry actually gained weight during chemotherapy

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

How dedicated was Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry to beating cancer and getting back on the field as soon as possible? So dedicated he actually gained a pound while simultaneously working out and undergoing chemotherapy.

Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder told the media Wednesday that Berry opted to have IVs every time he was administered chemotherapy drugs, rather than the traditional route of a pick line (also called a port), so that he could work out while undergoing treatment.

Despite the often debilitating effects of chemo, Berry somehow found the energy to work out twice a day with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. After six phases of chemo between December and May, Berry emerged from treatment cancer-free and in great shape.

"There would be times I would work out and I'd end up just crying after the workout just because, first of all, I couldn't believe that I made it through the workout, but I couldn't believe it was that hard," Berry told reporters Wednesday.

"I was trying to push myself to the limit, I couldn't push myself how I wanted to and it was just ... I had to break it down to really embracing the process and understand that everything wasn't going to come back overnight. You add chemo into something like this, that's a whole different monster because it literally feels like you're dying."

Berry added that there was a time where working out wasn't an option.

"It was tough. It was a battle every day. I had to, it was to the point where I had to set goals to where I would just get out the bed," he said. "You know, today I'll get out the bed, I'm not gonna stay in the bed all day because I would literally stay in the bed all day."

There appears to be nothing but hard work standing between Berry and a return to the ranks of the NFL's elite safeties. After everything he's overcome, this next part might be the easy part.

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