BC linebacker refuses to quit the fight against cancer

BLACKSBURG The day a doctor found the tumor his left thigh, Mark Herzlich went home and lay in bed for two hours. He thought about his future -- what chemotherapy and radiation treatments would be like, and how they might affect his chances of playing in the NFL.

A few months earlier, Herzlich, a linebacker, finished the best season of his life. He led Boston College in tackles and was named the ACC's defensive player of the year and a third-team All-American. This fall, as a senior, he was going to be one of the nation's best defensive players, certainly a high pick in the 2010 NFL draft.

"That's the whole life you're gonna live in front of you," he said.

He figured the pain he felt in his left leg during spring practices was just another minor ache -- a routine speed bump on the road to his promising future. But the pain didn't subside. In May, he had an MRI, which revealed the tumor, which doctors diagnosed as Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.

So there was Herzlich, lying in bed at his parents' home in Wayne, Pa., wondering what comes next. "Then, after about two hours of thinking about all that stuff, I was able to realize that this is just another opponent," he said.

He seems to have defeated it. After enduring 36 chemotherapy sessions, five hours each, and 50 radiation treatments, after losing his hair and strength, Herzlich received a telephone call Sept. 30 from his father, who told him that, based on the latest MRI results, his doctor believes the cancer is gone. Now, Herzlich, 22, is chasing a goal he never let go: playing football again.

Herzlich's ordeal inspired Virginia Tech's football team to raise money in his name. The Hokies sold $1 wristbands, hoping to get $9,400 -- Herzlich wore No. 94 -- and donate it to Uplifting Athletes, a non-profit organization of college football players that promotes awareness and research of rare diseases.

As of yesterday morning, Tech had raised just more than $9,000. When the Eagles play Virginia Tech at noon tomorrow, one of Herzlich's old opponents, Hokies running back Darren Evans, will present him a check.

Clemson and Florida State have performed similar gestures this season, and while Herzlich embraces his platform -- he even has a Web site, herznation.com, that updates fans on his progress and links to Uplifting Athletes' donation page -- he also wants to transform himself back into the player he once was.

"I don't think there's any question he was headed right to the NFL -- and a high draft choice," Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "To me, he had it all."

Herzlich tried to maintain his strength during cancer treatments by working out on a stationary bike and elliptical machine, and lifting weights with his arms. He stayed around his playing weight from last season, about 240 pounds.

He has two chemotherapy sessions left -- Oct. 19 and Nov. 2. Later in November, surgeons will insert a rod into the center of his left femur, to counteract damage that the tumor and radiation caused. After two weeks of recovery, Herzlich will resume biking and hopes to progress into jogging and running.

He plans to participate in Boston College's winter workouts, which will gauge his leg's strength. "Right now, I don't foresee any problem with that because of the way my leg's held up so far without the rod," he said.

If all goes well, Herzlich could return for spring practices. The five-year cancer-free milestone -- which doctors say means the disease is almost certainly gone -- will still be far off, but Herzlich can at least pursue his future on his own terms.

"The biggest thing now," he said, "is to hope and pray that it doesn't come back."

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Virginia Tech has listed three starters as probable for tomorrow's noon home game against Boston College: defensive end Nekos Brown (illness); right tackle Blake DeChristopher (sprained left ankle); and defensive tackle John Graves (high right ankle sprain).

DeChristopher (Clover Hill) was injured two weeks ago in a win over Miami. He returned to the game but did not play in last Saturday's win at Duke.

Graves (Meadowbrook) missed the Miami game after getting injured the previous week against Nebraska. He played one snap at Duke, on the field-goal block unit. Graves was not included on last week's injury report, while DeChristopher was listed as probable. Both were cleared to play at Duke.