Randy Moss opened up about cancer battle, support he received, and helping Deion Sanders
"I was overwhelmed. It hit like a ton of bricks."
Randy Moss opened up about battle with cancer: Former Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss was diagnosed with Stage 2 bile-duct cancer in late 2024, forcing him to step away from his post-playing career as an ESPN NFL analyst.
Thankfully, Moss went into remission, and is set to return to his television role on “Sunday NFL Countdown.” Moss recently discussed the difficult process in an interview with Robin Roberts on “Good Morning America.” Roberts explained in the segment that part of Moss’s cancer treatment involved having a “complex, six-hour procedure that removed parts of several organs, along with chemotherapy and radiation.”
“I was nervous because of the doctor talking about that c-word,” Moss says of being told about his cancer diagnosis.
“I just think that when you live your life, you know, a certain type of way of, you know, eating right, taking care of your health, and all of a sudden you get diagnosed with cancer,” he said. “I was overwhelmed. It hit like a ton of bricks.”
Moss said he “came in at a Stage 2” at the time of diagnosis. Alongside Moss in the interview was his wife, Lydia.
“It was hard for me because he didn’t want out help,” Lydia told Roberts, “because he’s used to doing everything on his own. And I think as much as he tried to push us away, he realized we needed him, and he needed us.”
Eventually, Lydia — leading Randy’s support system — was able to get through. And with Moss undergoing the successful procedure, he was given the welcomed news of remission.
Still, the jarring episode led Moss to reflect on the earlier death of his older brother, Eric.
“In 2019, my brother mysteriously dies of heart failure, and I didn’t really have time to talk to my brother when he left,” Moss explained. “My brother died at 48, and the one thing I always prayed to God was, ‘God, just get me to 50.'”
Amid the struggle, Moss noted that his mutual support of former competitor but longtime friend Deion Sanders (who also recently revealed a cancer battle of his own) inadvertently caused him to reflect on his brother.
“He called me,” Moss said of Sanders, “and the first thing he said is, ‘I need you.’ And when he said that, it took me back to my brother.”
Conveying the advice he’d received from his wife — to not shut himself out from his family and loved ones — Moss said that he helped Sanders.
“He texted me back a couple days [later] and told me, ‘Thank you,'” Moss recalled of Sanders. “That was more of a burden lifted up off of my chest because of what I’d been going through over the last couple of years that I could finally be there for somebody.”
Trivia: Randy Moss was somehow not the first wide receiver selected in the 1998 NFL Draft. Moss was picked 21st by the Vikings, but can you name the lone receiver who was drafted ahead of him?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: He once received a very famous (and controversial) lateral from Frank Wycheck.
Scores and schedules:
Tonight, the Red Sox begin a three-game series in Arizona against the Diamondbacks at 9:40 p.m. Rookie Payton Tolle is set to make his second MLB start.
On Saturday, Boston College football will face Michigan State on the road at 7:30 p.m.
Also on Saturday, the Revolution travel to play the Chicago Fire at 8:30 p.m.
And on Sunday, the Patriots host the Raiders at 1 p.m. in New England’s season opener.
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- Filipa Patão shared her thoughts on becoming the inaugural head coach of Boston Legacy FC
A Revolutionary bike: As part of the club marking its 30th anniversary, the Revolution recently released a detailed look-back at one of the greatest moments in team history, when Taylor Twellman scored a bicycle kick in the 2007 Eastern Conference Championship.
On this day: In 1927, the last place Red Sox nonetheless rallied to defeat the eventual World Series-winning Yankees 11-10 across 18 innings. Both teams traded three-run innings in the 17th, but Boston managed to plate the walk-off winner one inning later.
Remarkably, the four-hour game was only the first of a a doubleheader, with New York winning the latter clash 5-0.
Daily highlight: Carter McElhany from Division II Ouachita Baptist University willed his way to a remarkable kickoff return on Thursday, breaking eight tackles to eventually score a touchdown.
Trivia answer: Kevin Dyson
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