Eddie Olczyk was diagnosed with colon cancer in August, and has since had to undergo surgery to remove a massive tumor said to be the size of his fist.
The TV analyst told the Chicago Tribune that "It's OK to be scared. I still am, because I'll have to deal with cancer the rest of my life."
He added that “I’m trading in, hopefully, six months for 50 more years. That’s my goal. Like, that’s the thing, for as hard as it is and as hard it’s going to be, that’s what I’m doing.”
He then issued some pretty sad words.
“My life is complete … when everybody else around me is fine,” Olczyk admitted to Phil Rosenthal of the Tribune. “It’s always been that way. I felt like I let everybody down initially. That’s the first thought I had when I got sick. I’m glad it’s me and nobody else in my circle because I wouldn’t be able to live if it was somebody else.”
Olczyk is looking to regain some kind of normal life soon, working around his cancer treatments. He was in the booth for a Chicago Blackhawks game a few weeks ago and received an outstanding ovation from the crowd.
Get better quick, Eddie.
