Randy Moss announces battle with cancer, undergoes successful surgery

Randy Moss is a cancer survivor. The Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver announced via Instagram on Friday that he recently underwent surgery in Charlotte, North Carolina. Moss, who was in the hospital for nearly a week, is receiving treatment for cancer that was found outside his bile duct between his pancreas and liver. 

During the video, Moss thanked his doctors, nurses and other medical staff members who have helped him during his cancer battle. Moss, who said he will now undergo chemotherapy and radiation, also thanked his family and “prayer warriors” for their support. 

“Your boy is a cancer survivor,” Moss said. “I’m nursing myself back. I’m here with my family, and I can’t wait to bust some of y’all heads on ‘Call of Duty’ or ‘NBA 2K’.”

Moss said he underwent an initial procedure on Thanksgiving to put a stent in his liver after experiencing urine discoloration. That procedure confirmed his cancer diagnosis. 

Shortly thereafter, Moss announced that he was stepping away from his duties as an NFL analyst for ESPN in order to deal with an “internal” medical issue. Moss’ announcement came days after he addressed his medical situation on “Sunday NFL Countdown.” 

Moss said that he had a Whipple Procedure six days ago that lasted roughly six hours. He was released from the hospital earlier today. 

“It was a trying week, some trying times,” Moss said. “So once again, I thank you all. … I felt all the prayers coming through there. Man, I really did, all the prayer warriors coming through there at the time. You know, I was looking at my social media while I was in the hospital. Didn’t have much to look at other than TV and my cellphone. Didn’t do a lot of tweeting, but you prayer warriors, all my teammates, you know, I just don’t want to name no names, but I saw everything you guys tweeted at me, all the prayers, the well wishes. I really felt that my family felt that.” 

Moss also announced the launching of his new website, with all proceeds from his “Team Moss” gear going to cancer research.

A 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Moss is widely considered to be one of the greatest receivers in NFL history. He led the NFL in touchdown catches a whopping five times. He did so as a rookie by snagging a rookie-record 17 touchdowns while helping the Vikings get to within a game of the Super Bowl. A little over a decade later, Moss caught a single-season-record 23 touchdowns while helping the Patriots become the only team to go undefeated during a 16-game regular season. 

Nicknamed “The Freak” because of his otherworldly talent, Moss was one of the best deep threats the game has even seen. He also had impeccable hands and was a threat to score every time he had the ball. 

All three of those facets were on display on Thanksgiving Day in 1998, when Moss delivered one of the most iconic performances (and stat lines) in NFL history. Moss caught three passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns in Minnesota’s win over Dallas. 

Moss was also an immensely popular player. That was on display this past summer during Tom Brady’s Patriots Hall of Fame induction ceremony, when Moss was brought to tears after receiving a lengthy and thunderous ovation from Patriots fans who were in attendance. 

Not many players leave a lasting impact after their careers are over. Moss certainly did, and now, spreading cancer awareness will also be part of his legacy.