MINNEAPOLIS — Casey O'Brien, the Minnesota Gophers placeholder who beat cancer four times, posted that he will be undergoing a surgery this week to have a spot removed in one of his lungs.
The redshirt sophomore said on social media that doctors found a small spot on his lungs today while he was in for his three-month scan.
O'Brien, who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma when he was a freshman at Certin-Derham Hall, played in his first game as a Gopher earlier this season, but it's been his journey that's perhaps had the biggest impact.
After making his collegiate debut, O'Brien shared his story as a four-time cancer survivor on the Big Ten Network, and has since become a role model for people across the nation.
O'Brien said on his Twitter page that's he ready to go 1-0 in the surgery season, a reference to the Gophers' mantra this year of week-to-week seasons, and ended it with the hashtag #5x.
An outpouring of support has flooded his comments as people from all over the nation, including from Hall-of-Fame sports broadcaster Dick Vitale.
