Dick Vitale Receives Incredible News In His Cancer Battle

With tears running down his face, Dick Vitale heard the words from his doctor that he never thought he'd hear again. 

"Dick, you're back," Harvard Medical School Voice Surgeon Dr. Steven Zeitels said Wednesday on a Facebook video with Vitale, 85, next to him in an exam room after scoping his throat. "You vocal cords are not going to hold you up."

And with that news, the legendary ESPN college basketball broadcaster broke down as the realization came over him that he's been cleared to return to his job calling games. Dickie V. hasn't called a game since 2022. 

"We've been down this road a long time," Zeitels told Vitale while comforting him. "I didn't know we could get here, but we are here. And you're ready to be with your viewers, the players, ESPN, you're ready to be with everyone again." 

In June, Vitale announced that a cancerous lymph node was detected in his neck and he would be undergoing treatment. It was Dick's fourth cancer battle. 

"I can't wait," Vitale told Zeitels before adding, "I owe [Zeitels] everything. He's awesome, baby with a capital ‘A’." 

Dr. Zeitels has been caring for Dick Vitale's vocal cords since 2007

"At this point, your vocal function is outstanding. I haven't heard your voice like this in awhile," the doc told Vitale. "We're going to have to restrict some of your activities while you do the games for a little while."

Zeitels also noted this was "the largest" version of this surgery that's ever been done. 

The news was just so overwhelming to Dickie V. 

Trembling with emotions, the legend quivered while uttering, "I can't believe I'll be courtside."

If you're looking for a feel-good story in sports, it doesn't get any better than this. Dickie V. will once again call basketball games and remind us about everything that was fun about sitting down for a Vitale game, even if he's calling a Duke game. 

We could all use a jolt of positivity and it doesn't get much more positive than what Dickie V. heard on Wednesday.