Randy Moss is opening up about his cancer diagnosis for the first time.
On Friday, Dec. 13, the Minnesota Vikings wide receiver turned ESPN analyst, 47, shared in an Instagram Live filmed on his couch that he underwent surgery and had been hospitalized for nearly a week. He addressed his followers from his home, using a cane to assist while walking.
The NFL commentator says he noticed his urine was discolored and sought medical attention. That's when his doctors made the cancer diagnosis.
“So I did have cancer,” he revealed. “They found it in the bile duct right between the pancreas and the liver, and that the cancer was sitting right outside the bile duct.”
During the Live, Moss explained he underwent the first of several surgeries on Thanksgiving day to insert a stent into his liver.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer shared that he underwent another six-hour surgery on Saturday, Dec. 7, and just returned home after six days. Moss shared he had a Whipple procedure — an operation that treats tumors and other conditions in the pancreas, small intestine and bile ducts, per the Mayo Clinic — and that the cancer was just outside of his bile duct.
Albert Dickson/Sporting News via Getty
“It was a trying week, a trying time. So once again, I thank you all,” he said, naming a few of the doctors and nurses who treated him in Charlotte, NC “Thank you and your team nursing me back to health and getting me back here with my family.”
Moss says he will follow-up the surgery with radiation and chemotherapy. He encouraged his followers, particularly fellow Black men, to undergo regular cancer screenings.
“By the grace of God, my liver started acting up,” he said, adding elsewhere in the stream, “I didn't think I would ever be in a position like this, as healthy as I thought I was.”
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Moss previously shared that he was taking an extended leave of absence from his hosting duties on ESPN.
“For nearly a decade, Randy has been an invaluable member of the team, consistently elevating Countdown with his insight and passion. He has ESPN's full support, and we look forward to welcoming him back when he is ready,” the network said in a Statement on Dec. 6.
“My goal is to get back on that television with my team,” Moss added during his Instagram Live, saying that he will be starting a new line of t-shirts reading “Let's Moss Cancer” along with a fundraisersome of the proceeds of which will benefit cancer research.
Prior to Friday, Moss had not disclosed the specifics of his condition. Earlier this week, his son Thaddeus blasted fellow sports journalist Larry Fitzgerald Sr. for tweeting about his father's diagnosis.
Moss was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018 after playing 14 seasons in the NFL, including stints with the Vikings, Oakland Raiders and the New England Patriots, per the Associated PressHe holds a number of records in the league, including the second most touchdown catches with 156 during his career, and broke a record in 2007 when he made 23 touchdown receptions for the Patriots.