Health

Strawberry's Toughest Battle

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

October 1, 1998 / 8:18 PM EDT / CBS

After battling drugs and alcohol, a history of domestic violence and tax problems, Yankees slugger Darryl Strawberry, 36, now faces the biggest potential threat to his career and his life, reports CBS News Correspondent John Roberts. The famous athlete and baseball icon has been diagnosed with colon cancer.

Strawberry had been suffering pain in his lower abdomen for months. X-rays showed a small growth in his colon, so Thursday he underwent a colonoscopy -- a procedure in which an instrument with a tiny TV camera is threaded through the lower intestine to search for abnormalities.

"I would look for a little polyp, a little growth, or a large growth that would be invading the interior of the colon," said Dr. Paul Basuk of New York Hospital.

Dr. Basuk has performed the procedure thousands of times and says that for most patients who undergo colonoscopy, the most likely outcome is that it won't be cancer.

"Most of the time, we're looking at diverticulosis, which are air pockets of the colon, hemorrhoids, polyps and uncommonly -- though all too common enough --cancer," said Dr. Basuk.

Every year, upwards of 150,000 people are diagnosed with colon cancer and almost 60,000 die from the disease. The good news is that it can be prevented with regular screenings. If caught early, it can be treated very effectively.

"If the cancer is contained within the lining of the colon, they have a 90 percent plus chance of cure," said Dr. Basuk.