Cancer-free Liam Hendriks hopes to get back to pitcher's mound for White Sox
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Liam Hendriks is cancer-free, ready to start a rehab stint, and hoping to be pitching for the White Sox soon.
It's pretty much great news all around for the Sox closer.
Hendriks is back with his teammates and spoke with reporters for the first time since his battle with cancer.
He said he first noticed lumps in his neck last June, and ultimately growths in his hips were larger - eventually leading to a Stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosis in December.
Hendriks said it was tough going through four rounds of chemotherapy. But he now has a clean bill of health - and never felt sorry for himself.
"I never self-involved and looked into it as a why-me thing. I looked at it as a why-not-me. I mean, as some of you may understand, I tend to have a little rosier perspective on life than gen pop, so that was my process behind it. I'm like look, I've got this. This is my next challenge. And we started looking into ways that we can make good of this – whether it be like any sort of donations; whether it be helping out people in similar situations – we looked at it as an opportunity to help the outside community move forward," Hendriks said. "I knew that going into it, I could never self-reflect. I could never be introverted and hold it all in, and just woe-is-me – that attitude."
Hendriks has been going through warmups with his teammates at Guaranteed Rate Field the last two days, will start a rehab stint Friday. He is hopeful he'll be pitching for the Sox sometime later this month.
Hendriks said he never doubted he'd back on the mound, but says it did hit him hard not being able to be with his teammates this spring