CBN Sports
The Linebacker Who Couldn't be Stopped by Cancer
By Shawn Brown
The 700 Club
CBN.com -“I put out this stoic face to the world saying, ‘don’t worry about me. I’m okay. I’ll be okay.’ And that was for my family. That was for my friends. That was for my brothers. And inside I was hurting. And inside I was scared.”
Mark Herzlich was one of the best college linebackers in the country after his junior season in 2009. He was projected to be a top NFL draft pick.
“I was up for big awards. I was named all American, ACC Defensive Player of the Year. And I started to feel like I was invincible. And that nothing could touch me. And that no matter what I did, I was going to have a great life.”
But just before spring ball, he began feeling pain in his leg that prevented him from completing his workouts. Soon the pain began to spread. “It wasn’t located in my knee any more. It spread out throughout my whole femur and my quad and my hamstring, and my low back.”
After seeing several doctors, Mark and his parents went to see an oncologist. He was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.
“My dad all of a sudden spoke up and it kind of snapped me back into focus. He said, ‘okay, what does that mean? Mark is a good football player and hopes to have a career out of that. When will he be able to play again?’ And the doctors said, ‘you know, Mr. Herzlich, I’m sorry, but Mark will never be able to play football again.’”
Mark says he was devastated. “Yesterday I was ready to be the ACC Defensive Player of the Year again to get drafted in the top 10 in the NFL draft, to make tons of money, to have the life I had always dreamed of. And today, they told me, ‘you might not even live until next season.’”
Still Mark wasn’t ready to give up his dream so easily. “I said, ‘dad, don’t worry. I’m going to beat this. I’m going to be okay. And I’m going to play football again.’”
Mark began chemo immediately. Two months later, he received a call from a Walter Musgrove. Walter introduced himself and shared with Mark that he had bone cancer as well, and had beaten the cancer.
“He says, ‘Mark, do you pray?’ And I said, ‘oh, you know, I went to church when I was little and like I prayed before.’”
“He goes, ‘do you want to know how I beat cancer and came back? God helped me. And I started praying and I prayed specifically.’”
“And I said, ‘man, this is really powerful stuff.’ And so I hung up the phone with Walter and I made a decision that I was going to start praying.”
Mark says at first his prayers were simple. “I remember my first prayer, back from not praying for awhile, was like writing in a diary. It was like, ‘Dear God, this is Mark Herzlich. I hope You hear my prayer. I would love to be healthy again and play football again. Amen.’”
Shortly after, Mark heard about a new type of radiation treatment. But it was radical and risky. Mark admits he was scared.
“I turned to God for His wisdom and for His confidence and for His comfort. So I ended up making this decision that we’re going to take the riskier route because it wasn’t as much, ‘how do I want to die?’ It’s, ‘how do I want to live?’”
Over several months Mark endured 6 rounds of chemo, and 50 cycles of radiation. That was followed by a surgery to help strengthen his femur.
Then the doctor walked in with news. “He goes, ‘Mark, this was the best surgery that I’ve ever done in my life.’ And I was like on morphine like, ‘ahhh, cool, man. Like that’s awesome.’ And he told me, for the first time, he said, ‘Mark, I want to see you running again once you get out of bed. And then, you know, if that goes well, you should put a football helmet back on and see how that goes.’ This was 6 months of people telling me you can never play football again. And now my surgeon was saying, ‘let’s go give this a try.’”
It was a long and grueling process but on October 3, 2009, Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich returned to the gridiron with a vengeance. Then in 2011, he signed with the New York Giants. That year he and G-Men fought their way to the Super Bowl XLXIV championship. Today Mark is cancer free and preparing to head into another NFL season with the Giants. In his book, What It Takes, Mark shares his story and wants to show fans that with God no obstacle it too great to overcome.
“We are His masterpiece, the greatest creation He’s ever made. See what God has to offer you. See what He can do and you’ll be amazed. When stuff hits you hard, don’t put that blame on God. Put that weight on God. Say, ‘God, take that weight off me.’ And He will. He’ll carry you through the shadow of death because He wants you to come out on the other side.”
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