Basketball commentator Dick Vitale. Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN's Dick Vitale says he's cancer-free

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Mar 8, 2022 5:55 PM ET

ESPN college basketball announcer Dick Vitale announced last month he had undergone successful surgery to treat "pre-cancerous Dysplasia" on his vocal cords after he was diagnosed with lymphoma in October.

It's only fitting the 82-year-old who had previously battled melanoma offered more good news during Championship Week of March Madness.

Vitale announced via his official Twitter account on Tuesday that a recent scan unveiled he is free of cancer:

OMG ALL THE PRAYERS many of u have sent have been answered as DR Brown who heads my cancer TEAM called & said PET SCAN came back that NO CANCER is showing. I feel like a coach playing for the Final 4 has a PTPer hit a shot at buzzer. My MARCH MADNESS starts with a W baby ! pic.twitter.com/HS2yI3wgpB
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) March 8, 2022

As Greg Joyce wrote for the New York Post, Vitale was initially diagnosed with melanoma last summer but later explained for ESPN Front Row that he underwent surgery that he hoped would allow him to work through the 2021-22 season. However, he announced in October he'd been diagnosed with lymphoma and would need steroids and six months of chemotherapy.

Vitale made an emotional return to ESPN broadcasts in November but was then shut down in late December because of concerns related to his vocal cords. He confirmed on Jan. 24 he wouldn't call another game through the remainder of the campaign but has insisted he could return to the broadcast booth at some point during the 2022-23 season.

.@DickieV was brought to tears hearing the Baylor-Villanova crowd cheer him on ❤️ pic.twitter.com/HsZb4pQvx0
— ESPN (@espn) December 13, 2021

His latest update is Awesome, baby, with a capital "A."

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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