[painekiller]

I had another LB on my preseason watch list, but he was diagnoised with cancer and will miss the year. Mark Herzlich Boston College OLB.

Here is the story for those interested.

"The kid was sitting on top of the world," said Herzlich's father, Sandy, yesterday morning by telephone from his home in Pennsylvania. "But during spring practice he had a lot of different things that were bothering him. We checked it out and the doctors prescribed some medicine, which allowed him to play in the spring game. The nerve medication seemed to be working, but it didn't work all the way. The pain came back. We went to another doctor and he said that we weren't taking a strong enough dosage. Imagine if we had done that originally. He wouldn't have felt any pain and they probably would have never found what they found. It's a borderline mini-miracle."

Earlier this week, doctors found a tumor in Herzlich's left thigh, which was diagnosed as a rare form of bone cancer called Ewing's sarcoma. Sandy Herzlich said the initial exam revealed the cancer had not spread.

....


Mark Herzlich, who will begin chemotherapy treatments Tuesday in Philadelphia, was almost matter of fact in discussing the setback.

...

The next seven months will consist of a series of treatments designed to shrink the tumor. By early fall, doctors hope the tumor will be small enough that they can remove it.

Rest and recovery will follow, which will take Herzlich through the end of the year. He said his goal is to return to playing by next spring.

"Basically what it is, is that a lump in my leg is giving me a pain in the ass," he said.