Dealing with an unexpected cancer diagnosis during this time is truly a devastating anomaly and can leave people with more questions than answers.
A few years ago, Marc Silverman, best known from his ESPN Radio show in Chicago, broke the news that he has been diagnosed with Stage 3 non-Hodgkins lymphoma. The disease starts in the white blood cells and lymph nodes, and can dramatically impact the immune system.
Read MoreMarc was shocked by his diagnosis after thinking there was a really good chance it wasn’t lymphoma, but the gravity of the situation hit him while he was having the biopsy.
It wasn’t until I was laying in the chair and the doctor was doing the ultrasound on my neck lymph nodes and commenting how much bigger they are than normal, and then when she was pulling the fluid out and tears started coming down my face and at that moment it sort of hit me that I probably have something I wasn’t expecting when I walked into this office he solemnly explains. To make matters worse, in the middle of this pandemic you know I don’t have my wife by my side and I’m sitting there alone with the doctor with no one to emotionally lean on at that time.
Sadly, the results of that biopsy revealed the non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Since his diagnosis, Silverman has immersed himself in reading as much as possible about treatment. He has also surrounded himself with a really good medical team.
Managing Cancer While Working
There’s no playbook for being diagnosed with cancer. Sierman explains that the scariest part was not being sure about the future.
Silverman also shares that he feels lucky for his treatment so far and calls his positive interactions with hospital staff and caregivers an unbelievable experience.
You Have an Army Behind You
The decision to share his cancer diagnosis was an easy one for the ESPN radio host.
The listeners share everything in my life,” he reveals. “We’ve been on the air for 13 years and thankfully it’s mainly been good stuff. I started as a single 34-year-old broadcaster — a young broadcaster relatively speaking for hosting a talk show — and I lived in the city and Waddle (his radio co-host and former Chicago Bears wide receiver Tom Waddle) lived in the suburbs, he had the kids and I was single and through these 13 years we’ve evolved into different things. Now I have a four-year old and a six-year old. You know, I announced when I got engaged, everyone at the radio station was at my wedding, when we announced that we were pregnant, when we had our first child. Everything throughout my life we’ve always opened up the door to go through these milestones and big moments.
The empathetic response to his cancer diagnosis was overwhelming.
I thought I would get a few messages wishing me well. I didn’t realize the impact that it would have on some people and that the impact that people have made on me. The phrase I keep going back to is 'You have an army behind you. Do you know how many people have either fought cancer or are survivors? I truly didn’t know what that meant.
Silverman was inundated with a myriad of well-wishes running the gamut from other radio show hosts, pharmacists offering tips, doctors reaching out to make sure he's okay as well as listeners who have battled cancer. He also received a personal and meaningful email from The Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations and Bears head coach who called on the phone to offer his support. Silvy explains that receiving these messages is the most uplifting thing I;ve gone through as a broadcaster.
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