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MLB Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg has revealed that his prostate cancer has returned and spread.
The former Chicago Cubs star, 65, took to Instagram on Tuesday (December 10) to issue a statement about his cancer returning, nearly one year after he revealed his diagnosis.
“To my Chicago Cubs, National Baseball Hall of Fame, the city of Chicago, and my loyal fans, I want to share an update on my prostate cancer,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, we recently learned the cancer has relapsed and it has spread to other organs. This means that I’m back to more intensive treatment.”
“We will continue to be positive, strong, and fight to beat this,” he concluded. “Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for me and my family.”
The Instagram post included a picture of Sandberg, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005, with his wife, Margaret Koehnemann. The couple share two adult children, Justin and Brittany.
The post also featured a photo of Sandberg and his extended family at an event, as well as another snap of him in the hospital with a smile on his face.
In the comments, many fans and baseball stars showed their support for Sandberg — famously nicknamed “Ryno” — as he enters his next round of cancer treatment.
“Godspeed brother!! We love you and are praying for you. Strong stay strong,” former Chicago Cubs player Dexter Fowler wrote.
“We all love you Ryno,” another fan added, while a third person said: “All the love and support you experienced this year is there for you every day. Sending all good healing thoughts your way, Ryno.”
In January, the former infielder announced his cancer diagnosis on Instagram in another message addressed to the Chicago Cubs and his extended baseball family.
“Last week, I learned that I have been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. I have begun treatment, and I am surrounded by my loving wife Margaret, our incredibly supportive family, the best medical care team, and our dear friends,” he wrote in the caption at the time.
He’s since posted updates on Instagram about his cancer journey, sharing in May that he’d finished his chemotherapy treatments and was headed to radiation. At the time, he also said that there was “no detection of cancer” in his PET scan and MRI tests.
In August, Sandberg posted a picture of himself ringing the ceremonial bell to mark the end of his cancer treatment. He also posed alongside his wife and doctors in the hospital.
“What a Dream Team, family, doctors, friends, nurses, fans who supported myself and Margaret through the last eight months! We feel so blessed from all the love, prayers and thoughts, and positive words that have come our way! Modern medicine has come along way so once again early detection is important,” he wrote in the caption.
Sandberg played for more than 15 seasons before retiring from the MLB in 1997. He spent his first-ever year in the league as second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies. After playing for the Chicago Cubs from 1982 to 1994, he took one year off before returning to the team for his final season in the MLB from 1996 to 1997.
He served as third-base coach and infield instructor for the Phillies for one year, and was named the team’s permanent manager in 2013. He resigned from the position two years later and became an ambassador for the Chicago Cubs in 2016.