LeBron: Cancer Scare Was "Nerve-Racking"

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James tells a newspaper that a cancer scare earlier this year was "nerve-racking" and had him on edge for a few days.

James had to wait for biopsy results in January after doctors at the Cleveland Clinic found a growth in the right side of his jaw. He tells The Plain Dealer that doctors didn't think it was cancer but had to make sure.

"It was a nerve-racking experience but I knew at that point I had to get it done," James told the player. "I was on edge for those few days, I was lucky the season was going on and we were playing really well so I could concentrate on basketball. My family was nervous."

It turned out the growth was benign. James had surgery to remove it in June, a few days after the Cavaliers' season ended.

He says the week of bed rest following the operation was some of the best sleep he's ever had.

The growth was in James' parotid gland, which produces saliva, according to the report. Such tumors are rare, with only around 2,500 cases each year, but most end up being benign.

James' cancer scare was the least publicized news surrounding the NBA star this offseason. He in July chronicling his journey from high school to professional superstardom. And earlier that month, James was involved in a mini-controversy after Nike suppressed video footage showing James getting .