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Dick Vitale is an absolute legend in the college basketball world, but in recent years, the 84-year-old broadcaster has been forced to put his career on the back burner due to multiple battles with cancer. Thankfully, it appears he’s gearing up for yet another comeback after getting some truly fantastic news.
Vitale called the first college basketball game ESPN ever broadcasted all the way back in 1979, and he’s spent more than 40 years cementing himself as THE voice of the sport thanks to his electric delivery and the many catchphrases he deploys over the course of a typical game.
In 2021, the commentator revealed he was being treated for melanoma just a few months before he announced he’d been diagnosed with lymphoma, although he was able to make his emotional return to the announcer’s table in November of that year.
Unfortunately, his comeback was cut short when doctors spotted lesions on his vocal cords that resulted in multiple surgeries that led to the temporary loss of his voice. He officially conquered lymphoma shortly after the NCAA Tournament wrapped up in 2022, but in July of 2023, he revealed cancer had reared its ugly head yet again in his throat.
His doctors quickly hatched a plan of attack that required Vitale to not use his voice for months on end while undergoing the 35 radiation therapy treatments that were used to wage war against the cancerous cells. It was a long battle, but during a check-up on Monday, the man known as “Dickie V” announced he now has a 3-0 record against cancer in an emotional video where he said he plans to don the headset once again in the near future.
This is the report I received today from Dr ZEITELS – check it out ! @ESPNPR pic.twitter.com/2HMNZmPCgH
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) October 17, 2023
At this point, no one would blame Vitale for taking a well-deserved retirement, but as things currently stand, he’ll be making his grand return when Miami and Kentucky face off in the ACC/SEC Challenge on ESPN on November 28th.