Mickey Mantle Jr. Has Cancer

Cancer once again has struck the Mantle family.

Three years after the disease killed his father, Mickey Mantle Jr. has had a malignant tumor removed from his neck. He has had 36 radiation treatments since the operation about two months ago and is recovering at home, family attorney Wayne Miller said Wednesday.

"It's too early to tell whether they got it all or if it's all taken care of," Miller said.

The tumor was discovered after the Hall of Famer's oldest son was having trouble swallowing. The tumor was very close to his throat, forcing the 45-year-old Mantle to be fed intravenously following the operation, Miller said.

"He's now eating pretty much solid food, so that has brought a lot of comfort to him," Miller said.

Mickey Mantle died of liver cancer in August 1995 at age 63. His youngest son, Billy, suffered Hodgkin's disease, a lymphatic cancer, before dying of a heart attack in 1994 at age 36.

Mantle's father died at age 41 from Hodgkin's disease; his grandfather and an uncle were both 40 when they died of the same ailment.

Mantle Jr. felt good enough last week to drive to Missouri for a family Thanksgiving. He lives in Dallas with his teen-age daughter and works with brothers Danny and David at the Mickey Mantle Foundation.

Miller said the family has received many well-wishers since the operation.

"It's been very gratifying, the outpouring of support and concern we've heard from around the country," he said. "Mickey and his family still have a lot of goodwill."

Miller said the surgery has forced Mantle to put away his golf clubs for a while.

"They had to cut into the muscle on top of his shoulder, so his golf swing is severely impaired," Miller said. "He'll have to undergo therapy, but there's enough muscle remaining where he can recuperate. It'll never be as strong as it was before, though."

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