Dick Vitale: Tests 'Very Good' After 5th Cancer Diagnosis
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- Dick Vitale, 87, announced on social media Wednesday that recent blood tests came back "very good" after disclosing his fifth cancer diagnosis in April
- Vitale said his ongoing immunotherapy treatments are "very effective in wiping out the cancer"
- Vitale's cancer history began in 2021 with melanoma, followed by lymphoma, vocal cord cancer in 2023, and lymph node cancer in 2024 that required surgery
- Vitale received the Jimmy V Award for perseverance in 2022, an honor named for his close friend and late college basketball coach Jim Valvano, who died in 1993 from adenocarcinoma
- Vitale has spent years raising money for The V Foundation for Cancer Research, which Valvano helped found before his death
- Vitale appeared on ESPN a few times last season but has made no announcements about the upcoming college basketball season
Why it matters: At 87 and battling cancer for the fifth time, Vitale's positive treatment update marks a concrete milestone in his long public health fight. The Hall of Fame broadcaster has turned his platform into a fundraising engine for The V Foundation, while his reduced on-air presence leaves his future at ESPN uncertain heading into the next college basketball season.
