There are still health concerns for longtime broadcaster and former college basketball coach, Bob Valvano, but the good news is that he does not have leukemia.
Valvano was diagnosed with monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis, a condition where a higher than normal number of identical B cells are found in an individual’s blood. “It’s a condition that everybody who has leukemia gets this, but not everybody who gets this gets leukemia,” Valvano told Tim Sullivan of the Courier Journal.
According to Valvano, his white blood cell count reached 12,000 a year ago and has since gone up to 27,000. If it continues at that rate, which doctors told Valvano there’s no guarantee it will, it would take 20 years to reach leukemia levels.
Cancer took the life of Bob’s brother, Jim Valvano at the age of 47 in 1993. Jimmy V, also a former college basketball head coach and broadcaster famously gave an inspirational speech at the 1993 ESPY Awards saying “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.” He died less than two months later and the ESPY Awards now include the Jimmy V Award in his honor. The V Foundation was also founded in 1993, having raised more than $250 million for cancer research since its inception.
The 63-year old Bob Valvano continues his busy schedule which features a daily show on ESPN 680 while also working as the lead radio analyst for the University of Louisville men’s basketball team.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
