TNT and Chicago welcomes back Craig Sager last night during the Bulls vs. Thunder game, after his 11-month battle with cancer. Sager was introduced in the first quarter after a timeout to a standing ovation from the crowd and new blazer, gifted to him by the Bulls mascot, Benny The Bull.
You’re a little nervous. I’ve done it before but everything’s a little different. It’s a long 11 months, believe me. But I was very fortunate I had some doctors I believed in, had some good care. I’m back. A little bit lighter, I don’t know if you can see it on TV but I lost close to 50 pounds, got some of it back, but I had to get some new clothes because all those great things I had before don’t fit anymore.
I never had a bad day mentally. I really didn’t,” he said. “I was very optimistic, positive, believed in my doctors. Sure, some days physically were worse than others, but I always felt that if I did what they said to do, I’d be all right. It took longer than I thought, because I had a very tough infection and then I came down with pneumonia, and when you compound pneumonia with leukemia, people start talking mortality rates and all. I didn’t pay any attention to it. Maybe I was naive, but I really didn’t think about the negative things. I just said, ‘I want to get back.’