PHOENIX, Arizona — Arizona Cardinals coach and York native Bruce Arians coached the 2016 season while battling cancer in his kidney, according to a blog post on the team’s official website.
The post says Arians reveals the story in his new book, “The Quarterback Whisperer,” which is being released today.
Arians had a case of diverticulitis during the 2016 preseason, and was hospitalized briefly in late November while complaining of “discomfort.”
But it was during a dinner date with his wife, Chris, in December that Arians got the biggest scare of all. His doctor called to tell him an ultrasound he’d undergone to check on a hernia revealed a small spot on his kidney.
It was diagnosed as renal cell carcinoma.
Arians coached the rest of the season before undergoing surgery to remove a small portion of his kidney in February.
“Now I feel great,” Arians writes in his book. “My energy has returned. I’m told I’m cancer-free again. I’m ready for at least one more season of NFL football—maybe more.”
