Legendary college basketball broadcaster Dick Vitale is one step closer to hopefully getting back to work. After being diagnosed with vocal cord cancer this summer, Vitale has completed radiation treatment.
Vitale, 84, underwent 35 treatments near his home in Sarasota, Fla. He is currently on six weeks of vocal rest.
In the next few weeks, Vitale will undergo a scope to figure out if the radiation was successful.
Reporting from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune indicated Vitale is in good spirits, and that he had no issues going through treatment.
“I think when I look at Dick, he’s a highly motivated individual and he’s extremely positive and he’s gone through treatment better than expected,” Vitale’s radiation oncologist Dr. Matthew Biagioli said. “Head and neck cancer is one of the more difficult cancers we treat, but he has such a positive attitude and is so motivated to succeed. This is an early-stage cancer. He’s had a good response and we expect him to do extremely well.”
As for Vitale’s return to broadcasting, with a couple more months until the start of the basketball season, Dr. Biagioli said it’s all up in the air. But the prognosis is good at this point.
“I’m very encouraged that he’s definitely going to get his voice back,” he said. “Will it get back to the quality we’re familiar with? That’s the part that’s not clear. But having gotten to know the man, if anyone is going to be back calling games, I think it’s going to be him. So I give him good chances that he’ll be back calling games.”
