Veteran ESPN Broadcaster Dick Vitale is once again taking a break from returning courtside as he continues to put his health first, saying his voice “needs a T.O. Baby!”
What’s Happening:
- Legendary sportscaster Dick Vitale has been undergoing different medical procedures recently, and even though he returned courtside recently, he has announced today that his voice “needs a T.O. Baby!!”
- Earlier today, Vitale announced this news, saying:
- Today, I had my appointment with renowned Massachusetts General Hospital throat specialist, Dr. Steven Zeitels, who has been a huge help to me and so many others in the past. I’ve been having some issues with my voice and I needed to see what was going on.
- The good news is that he doesn’t believe anything is life-threatening; however, Dr. Zeitels says I have precancerous Dysplasia on the vocal cords. Bottom line is I need to rest them – my voice needs a T.O., BABY!
- I’m not sure exactly how long I will be off the air as a result of this or how many games I will miss. Dr. Zeitels wants to see me every couple weeks in the New Year to check on my progress. Of course, I am heartbroken that I won’t be immediately sitting courtside doing what I love, yet I’m in this for the long run. I plan to do games when I’m 100 – I need to listen to Dr. Z!
- Because I will be off the air for the time being, I didn’t want people to fear that I had a setback with my cancer treatments. As I announced previously, Dr. Rick Brown had said I’m cured from melanoma, and they say we are making fantastic progress in my battle with lymphoma. My chemo treatments will resume tomorrow and I hope and pray that they continue to be successful.
- I’ve said it over and over again – I have been so touched and humbled by the outpouring of well-wishes. Your notes, calls, texts and tweets mean the world to me. I love people and I’m so grateful to have such an incredible life. And my bosses at ESPN are simply fantastic and completely supportive.
- As I think you know by now, I will share more updates when I have them. Until then, I will be watching basketball from my living room with my loving family. Happy New Year, everyone! All my love!