In an article written for the Players Tribune, Baltimore Orioles slugger Trey Mancini announced that he has begun undergoing chemotherapy to treat Stage 3 colon cancer.
Titled “I Am So Lucky,” Mancini revealed that he underwent surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his colon on March 28.
“When I went in for an endoscopy and colonoscopy, the doctors told me that they were really expecting to confirm that I had celiac disease, which is found in your small intestine,” Mancini wrote. “When the anesthesia put me under, I believed everything was going to be O.K.”
“He started by eliminating all the possible things it could have been,” he continued. “I was still woozy from the anesthesia, but before he even said the word cancer I was thinking to myself, There’s no way that he’s about to say what I think he’s about to say. And then he said it: They had found a malignant tumor in my colon.”
The 28-year-old began chemotherapy on April 13 with treatment expected to go on for six months — which would likely eliminate the chance of him playing this year if baseball can return from its coronavirus postponement.
“But I want everybody to know that I’m O.K.,” Mancini wrote. “I know reading everything and seeing that I had a malignant tumor removed from my colon, it’s a lot to absorb — believe me, I know… But still, every once in awhile I catch myself thinking ahead — to when chemo is over, to when they remove my port, to when I can start going full-speed again.
And I already can’t wait for spring training.”
Mancini was coming off his finest season as a pro in 2019, slashing .291/.364/.535 with 35 home runs and 97 RBI in 154 games.
