Former Pitt and Steelers running back James Conner celebrates 7 years cancer-free
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Tuesday was a special day for the man that donned the blue and gold and then the black and gold.
James Conner, on this day in 2016, announced he was cancer-free.
It came after a December 2015 diagnosis of Hodgkin lymphoma and after six months of rigorous treatments, he was able to overcome it.
At the time of his diagnosis, he vowed to return to the football field.
"I will play football again. I will be at Heinz Field again. I have the best coaches and teammates in the country. I thank God I chose Pitt because now I also have the best doctors in the country and together we will win. I know this city has my back," Conner said seven years ago.
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He didn't just come back, he came back with a vengeance.
In 13 games, he ran for 1092 yards, and 16 touchdowns, and added 4 receiving touchdowns for a total of 20.
Conner would go on to get drafted by the hometown Steelers in the third round and in four years with the Steelers, he ran for 2,302 yards and 26 touchdowns.
He now plays for the Arizona Cardinals.
While Conner's comeback was the stuff of legend and inspiration, it almost never happened.
In an appearance on a podcast in 2019, Conner revealed that the situation was much more dire than he let on. Telling the host, the initial prognosis was bleak.
"[The doctor] said you got about a week if you didn't get this treated," Conner recalled. "You had about a week, at the rate it was growing."
The tumors were discovered around his heart, and Conner said that there could have been a chance he might have died on the field because the tumors applied pressure to the blood vessels in the area.
Seven years later, Conner finds himself cancer-free and productive with hopefully many more years ahead of him.
