Jerry Remy Being Treated For Relapse Of Lung Cancer

BOSTON (CBS) -- Jerry Remy is being treated for a relapse of his lung cancer, but he says this latest bout will not keep him from the Red Sox broadcast booth.

Remy, entering his 30th season as the Red Sox color analyst on NESN, Tweeted out Monday that his cancer is "under control."

Later Monday afternoon, the former Sox infielder met with the media.

"When I thought that the cancer was spreading, that was a horrific time," Remy said.

Remy says he was terrified to hear his lung cancer returned for a fourth time. He found out about it over the holidays. He recently had a procedure done to remove the cancer and is looking forward.

"I feel great now. You know, I really do. All that I've been through in the last couple of months has been quite a bit," Remy told reporters.

Remy says in spite of it all he still has a lot of fuel left in the fire.

"What fuels me is actually the people I'm surrounded by, my doctors, my family, my love for my job," the former Angel and Red Sox player said.

Remy says smoking played a major role in his disease and he's paying the price now.

"I'm 99 percent sure the reason I'm going through what I'm going through is because of that. I'm not going to preach, but I am going to say it's a lot easier not to pick up the first one than to put down the last one," he added.

Today he makes his most important calls to everyone. The call to action.

"You know, hopefully, we'll get some people's attention and they'll get to their doctor. The key thing for cancer is early detection," Remy advised.

The 64-year-old, who signed a multi-year extension with NESN over the offseason, was first diagnosed in 2008 and suffered complications after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous area of his lung. He took a leave of absence in April of 2009 while dealing with a bout of depression and did not return until August of that season. He had another relapse in 2013, but the ensuing surgery did not cause him to miss any games that season. He took a leave of absence in August of 2013 after his son was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend.

Remy has been in the Red Sox' broadcast booth since 1988, calling more than 3,900 games.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Jerry, and hopefully he'll be back with us soon," Red Sox president of baseball ops. Dave Dombrowski said from Fort Myers, Florida on Monday. "Jerry is very well-respected. He's been here for a very long time, so you'd travel in here as a visitor and know how well-respected he is and how well-thought of he is from the community. I know the fans love him, the organization loves him and NESN loves him. Hopefully he's back with us soon."

"We all know what he means to the Red Sox organization," said Boston right fielder Mookie Betts. "I hope he gets better."

Remy's former teammate Rich Gedman, now a hitting instructor in the Boston system, wished him a speedy recovery.

"Jerry was a great player and great competitor. He went about his business the right way and showed young guys how to go about their business and become a pro. He's been a very dedicated guy to the game; he's been great to the game and the game has been good to him," said Gedman. "I wish him the best in his recovery."

Remy's new contract called for him to provide color commentary for 115 games during the 2017 Red Sox season, but it's unclear if that number will change given the new diagnosis.

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