Dick Vitale shares positive health update following cancer diagnosis
By David Wasson
Published:
Legendary college basketball analyst Dick Vitale has shared a positive update on his recent cancer diagnosis, saying that scans show no spread of the disease to his brain.
Vitale took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to report that the melanoma in his lung and liver cavity found in an April scan – his fifth run-in with cancer – had not progressed.
“Received gr8 news from my oncologist that results of MRI of my head yesterday showed that ZERO CANCER spread to the brain,” Vitale wrote, adding “I feel fantastic & was shocked 4 weeks ago when Pet Scan showed the cancer.”
The 86-year-old Vitale, who followed a full coaching career by putting ESPN’s college basketball coverage on the map in 1979, has previously dealt with another melanoma along with vocal cord cancer and lymph node cancer. Vitale was most-recently declared cancer-free in late 2024 after defeating lymph node cancer.
Vitale has been a consistent champion of the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research, which honors the legacy of former NC State coach Jim Valvano. The Jimmy V Foundation, which held its annual gala May 1, has funded $458 million in game-changing cancer research grants nationwide through a competitive process strictly supervised by a world-class Scientific Advisory Committee.
Like our coverage? Make SDS a preferred source in your searches!
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
