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BALTIMORE – Orioles Hall of Fame member Cal Ripken Jr. has fully recovered from prostate cancer, he said Thursday.
In a Zoom call with reporters, Ripken, who turns 60 next week, said he was diagnosed in February during a routine exam and underwent surgery in March.
“I’m not sure if I’m the only one who’s ever done it the same day with this type of surgery,” Ripken told reporters. “But the good news is it has a really happy ending. The cancer was all contained in the prostate. They made a pathology report afterwards and confirmed that it was. took a three month test to see if my PSA [prostate-specific antigen] was undetectable, and it was, so we can say all the cancer was contained and it’s all over now. “
Due to his age, Ripken said he was not alarmed when his PSA was high on the first visit to the doctor. As a precaution, a biopsy was taken, and the results “came back uncertain,” he said.
Ripken received the news in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and he wanted the operation to take place before hospitals were overrun.
“The strangest thing is that when this first happened to you, I kept thinking, ‘I don’t want to tell anyone,’” Ripken said. “It’s almost like something’s wrong with you. I wouldn’t say Iron Man [nickname] contributes, but I was the type of person who thought, “OK, I’ll keep this a secret.”
“But the longer you deal with and understand that the outcome has been favorable and positive, the reason I blurt it out now is that I want to take the opportunity to help other people who are struggling with this decision and to encourage d ‘other people to go for their regular exams, to take their tests. “
Ripken, who holds the major league record for most consecutive games played, retired in 2001 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, his first year of eligibility.
His announcement came during a call with local media in preparation for Ripken’s 25th anniversary next month to overtake Lou Gehrig’s back-to-back streak.
“We all know people who have had different cancers, and you kind of ask yourself, ‘How would you feel if this happened to you? Said Ripken, whose father, Cal Ripken Sr., died of lung cancer in 1999. “I know what it’s like now. “
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