Mortensen to undergo treatment for throat cancer

Chris Mortensen taking break to treat throat cancer
3:36 PM ET
ESPN.com

ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen will be off the air as he begins treatments for throat cancer.

"More than a week ago, I was diagnosed with a Stage IV throat cancer," Mortensen said in a statement Friday. "My focus shifted significantly to gathering information about the specifics of this cancer. The initial diagnosis was confirmed Friday and there is another test remaining that will determine the best possible treatment plan that will commence in the very immediate future.

"Consequently, with the support and encouragement from ESPN president John Skipper and many others at ESPN, I am temporarily stepping away from my normal NFL coverage duties to better engage this opportunity to fight the good fight that is projected to affect almost 1.7 million Americans with new cases in 2016.

"I have many inspirational examples of men, women and children who have faced this very fight. We all know somebody, right? I also have the love and prayers of my wife Micki, my family, my friends, colleagues and, most of all, my faith that serve as sources of tremendous strength. I have a peace about this and look forward to the battle."

Mortensen joined ESPN in 1991 after a career at several newspapers, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where he was an investigative reporter and covered the Braves and Falcons and the NFL. He won the George Polk Award for reporting in 1987.

"Our thoughts are with Chris and his family as he faces this challenge," Skipper said. "He is an extremely respected colleague, who has the complete support of his entire ESPN family. We wish him strength and hope in the battle ahead and look forward to his return whenever he chooses."

You could tell the last year or so something was wrong with him.

He was having issues speaking and articulating his words.

Sad news.

Serious question for the guys in their 50's and older on this board:

Was cancer this prevalent in the 60's, 70's, and 80's?

Since I started paying attention in the 90's to now, it seems like everybody gets this crap now. It honestly feels like natural causes is a thing of the past....like it's almost a certainty that those of us born in the 60's onward are more likely to die from cancer than anything else.

F*ck cancer.

Texas Ace said:

Sad news.

Serious question for the guys in their 50's and older on this board:

Was cancer this prevalent in the 60's, 70's, and 80's?

Since I started paying attention in the 90's to now, it seems like everybody gets this crap now. It honestly feels like natural causes is a thing of the past....like it's almost a certainty that those of us born in the 60's onward are more likely to die from cancer than anything else.

F*ck cancer.

Click to expand...

In the old days, natural causes was often undiagnosed cancer.

Texas Ace said:

Sad news.

Serious question for the guys in their 50's and older on this board:

Was cancer this prevalent in the 60's, 70's, and 80's?

Since I started paying attention in the 90's to now, it seems like everybody gets this crap now. It honestly feels like natural causes is a thing of the past....like it's almost a certainty that those of us born in the 60's onward are more likely to die from cancer than anything else.

F*ck cancer.

Click to expand...

Medical problems in general 50 to 60 tears ago were essentially undiagnosed or undetected simply because people didn't go to doctors unless a serious situation developed. Maladies like cancer were probably already in laten stages before it was detected. Medical plans and coverages were not held by a large segment of the population so some simply went as long as they could then died. Whether cancer has become more prevalent is a good question and my guess is probably so but it may be that more people are going to doctors now and it is detected early because of medically technology. It's a question that actually has open ended answers. The probability factor in families has certainly increased.

Also, people are living longer.