Dick Vitale, a longtime ESPN college basketball analyst and Lakewood Ranch resident, announced on social media that he has been diagnosed with cancer for a fourth time. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Vitale shared that a biopsy of a lymph node in his neck showed cancer and that he is scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday. Despite the challenge ahead, Vitale expressed gratitude for the prayers, support from his family, friends, and colleagues at ESPN, and his determination to win this battle.
Vitale’s latest cancer diagnosis comes after he beat melanoma in August 2021, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma two months later in October 2021, underwent chemotherapy in April 2022 for colorectal cancer and had vocal cord cancer in June 2023 requiring radiation treatments for six weeks. He was declared cancer-free again in December 2023 but complications from radiation led to further surgery. Vitale had been on vocal rest to prepare for his anticipated return to broadcasting for the 2024-
