Curt Schilling announced on Wednesday during the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio Telethon that he has been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, specifically revealing the type of cancer he has been battling since February.
Schilling attributes his diagnosis of mouth cancer to his use of chewing tobacco for years as a major league player. Similarly, former baseball legend Tony Gwynn was diagnosed with cancer of a salivary gland in 2010 that required surgeries and rounds of chemotherapy. Gwynn also noted his frequent use of chewing tobacco as the likely source of the cancer. He died this past June due to complications from the cancer at only 54 years old.
Back in June, Schilling announced his cancer was in remission after months of treatment. The former World Series champion hadn't disclosed the type of cancer he had until Wednesday because he "didn't want to get into the chewing tobacco debate" and he "didn't want people feeling sorry for him." He revealed his chewing tobacco habit lasted about 30 years and wishes he had never dipped.
"This all came about from a dog bite," Schilling said during the telethon, via this CBS Sports article. "I got bitten by a dog and I had some damage to my finger and I went to see a doctor, and the day that I went to see the doctor, I was driving and I went to rub my neck and I felt a lump on the left side of my neck. And I knew immediately it wasn't normal. So there happened to be an ENT [Ear, Nose, and Throat] right next door to the hand doctor, and I thought what the heck, let me just stop in and see, and so I waited in the office and went in there and they did the biopsy, and two days later, they diagnosed me with squamous cell carcinoma."
Now that Schilling's type of cancer is known, and after Tony Gwynn's death this past June, the MLB may seriously consider changing the league's smokeless tobacco policy. After Gwynn's death, Commissioner Bud Selig and Executive Director of the MLBPA Tony Clark both said they hope the use of smokeless tobacco among the league's players ends. Selig already banned such tobacco use in the minors. The policy could change in the major leagues as well.
"It will be a subject they'll discuss during the next collective bargaining," said Selig, in this ESPN article. "I understand that individuals have a right to make their own decisions. I hope we're successful, because the Tony Gwynn story was a heartbreaking, awful story.
