Rockies right-hander Chad Bettis tells ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick that he was diagnosed with testicular cancer about two weeks ago. He required surgery the next day to remove one of his testicles, but the expectation is that the procedure will not significantly impact his future — either in his personal life or on the mound.
It’s certainly great to hear the positive prognosis for the 27-year-old, who has turned into a critical member of the Rockies’ staff. Bettis says that he has been informed that he should not suffer any impairment to his ability to have children, and ought to “be physically ready to have a normal Spring Training.”
The coming season is an important one for Bettis, who will be completing his arbitration resume in advance of his first-time eligibility next fall. That assumes, of course, that he can continue to grow on the mound. He took a step back in the earned-run department this year (4.79 ERA) following his twenty-start breakout in 2015 (4.23 ERA). But Bettis still provided 186 frames and carried good peripherals, leaving plenty of reason to hope that he’ll be a valuable rotation member in 2017 and down the line.
While any diagnosis that includes cancer is obviously frightening, Bettis notes that testicular cancer is generally quite manageable so long as it is identified and treated promptly. As we send our best wishes to him for a full recovery, we’ll echo his message here: “This only reinforces my belief that each of us needs to be totally in tune with our own physical health, and that taking action sooner than later when we feel like something is off can sometimes literally be the difference between life and death.”
Awesome news to hear he’ll be ok, all things considered. Definitely in my prayers
I second that!
My dad’s side of the family has a history of testicular cancer so I’m worried about it in the future but this proves how kind of simple it would be to treat as long as you catch it early.
I’ve been there, had one removed when I was 16. Recovery is pretty quick but you certainly don’t want to be doing much activity for 4-6 weeks for fear of tearing anything!
Glad they were able to find it early.
Hope for a full recovery
F**k cancer
Well said.
Best of luck!
So they found out he had cancer, and the next day they removed it completely? That’s nuts…
Next day service…perks of being a pro-athlete. The week between my being diagnosed with a testicular mass and actually getting my left nut cut off was not fun.
He’s got some balls to undergo surgery like that… oh wait
Isn’t that a kick in the nuts
Him and John Kruk have something in common now