Championship golfer John Daly was diagnosed with and treated for bladder cancer recently.
Daly, known for his colorful lifestyle, non-country club attire and long back stroke, was forced to withdraw last month from a Missouri golf series in order to see a doctor because of kidney stones, The Golf Channel reported. Doctors determined the stones had passed but the two-time PGA champion had cancer.
“(The urologist said) it doesn’t look like any stones are in there. But unfortunately, you have bladder cancer,” Daly told The Golf Channel. “After I did the CT (scan) I was fixing to sip on my Diet Coke and he said, ‘Don’t drink anything. We have to get you back in here and get this cancer out of you.’”
Doctors said there is a strong chance of recurrence with this type of cancer so Daly, 54, will need periodic checkups.
He has had numerous knee and other injuries over his 33 year professional golf career. At various tournaments, he has successfully petitioned to use a golf cart because of a knee condition. He has also battled alcoholism.
Daly pledged to make healthy changes to his lifestyle.
“I’m cutting way, way back on the Diet Coke and counting minutes before I can have a cigarette. I’m trying to quit smoking. The doctors aren’t saying it’s too late,” Daly said. “Unfortunately, it’s a cancer that keeps coming back. But I’m going to listen to them, and I’m going to try and quit smoking.”
Daly has won five PGA Tour titles. He won the 1991 PGA Championship, the 1995 PGA Open Championship and the 2017 PGA Tour Champions, according to The Golf Channel.
“If it comes back, it comes back,” Daly said. “Six months to a year, if it doesn’t go away, I’m going to live my life. I’m gonna have some fun. I always tell people I’ve lived one hell of a life. No matter what happens, I’m not scared to die or anything.”