Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner was diagnosed with cancer back in 2015, and he recently revealed how that diagnosis came just in the nick of time.
During an appearance on Mike Stud's podcast, "Ya Neva Know: ya know what I mean?," Conner described the moment he learned the devastating news, including how a doctor told him he only had "about a week" to live.
Says the 24-year old running back (H/T Hunter Homistek):
"As a running back, I'm like, 'This is the worst thing in the world,'" Conner told Stud. "A running back [with an MCL] injury? It ain't cool."
"I'm rehabbing for that, trying to make a comeback before the season ends," Conner said. "And then I'm rehabbing and [stuff and I get] night sweats, bro. I'm getting like 15 minutes of sleep at night, going through it. Sleep, who [doesn't] love sleep? That's the worst [stuff] in the world ... And so I get some tests done, and I got tumors surrounding my heart ... I got tumors growing all around it, and it's pressing."
"The doctor told me I had a week left," Conner said. "He said, 'You got about a week. If you [don't] get this treated, you [have] about a week at the rate it's growing.'"
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Conner underwent chemotherapy to combat the Hodgkin lymphoma, and he was declared cancer-free in May 2016. The former Pitt Panther had a breakout season last year in the absence of Le'Veon Bell, rushing for 973 yards and 12 touchdowns in 13 games, to go along with 497 receiving yards and one receiving TD.
The Steelers will open up the 2019 season on the road against the New England Patriots on Sunday night, September 8.
