Why Terry Bradshaw Kept His Cancer Diagnosis Private For So Long

Terry Bradshaw is a Hall of Fame football player who works as a sports analyst for Fox Sports. In 2022, Bradshaw revealed that he had been diagnosed with cancer, not once, but twice. He shared the news during a live broadcast on Fox Sports. Bradshaw was rather upbeat and positive when telling the world that he had battled cancer, and was happy to report that he had been given a clean bill of health by his oncologists. A few weeks later, Bradshaw explained why he didn't want to tell people about his health issues. The main reason, he said, was because he didn't want people feeling bad for him.

"I didn't talk about it because I didn't want pity. I didn't talk about it because a lot of celebrities — unfortunately, I'm one of those — when they say this, I think the perception around America with all the millions of people is, 'Aw, look at him. Bless his heart. He has cancer. Well, my husband died of cancer! My kids are...' I didn't want that," he said during an interview with Today. "Took me a long time before I told my family," he added.

Bradshaw was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2021 and with a rare form of skin cancer a few months later. And there was one thing in particular that had Bradshaw realizing that it was time to share his journey with fans.

Terry Bradshaw was grateful that his cancer treatment was behind him, but he was still suffering some symptoms. During a live NFL broadcast, Bradshaw was having some trouble breathing, which got the internet talking. A week later, he made the decision to open up about what was going on in his life. "Last week on this show, I ran out of breath, and Howie [Long] helped me up. And a lot of people are asking what's wrong with me, what's happened to me physically. I just want to address it and let you know what has happened in my life," he said.

Bradshaw explained that he underwent treatment for bladder cancer at Yale University Medical Center. According to the American Cancer Society, there are different levels of treatment depending on the stages of cancer present in the bladder. It's unknown if Bradshaw had chemotherapy or radiation therapy following his surgery, but he did say that he no longer had any trace of bladder cancer in his body following his treatment. 

The former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback's skin cancer was a bit more tricky. He had some discomfort in his neck and was sent for an MRI where doctors found a tumor — and he was diagnosed with Merkel cell carcinoma, which is super rare.

Terry Bradshaw's Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) diagnosis was definitely scary, given how rare and dangerous it is. According to the American Cancer Society, this type of skin cancer tends to spread very quickly. Often times, swollen lymph nodes can cause a bulge in the neck, which can be a symptom that something is wrong. There are a variety of treatments for MCC, which can include wide local excision, surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, or a combination thereof. Despite the complexity of this rare type of cancer, the prognosis is pretty good — if the cancer is caught early and treated successfully. Patients diagnosed with MCC have a 70% survival rate past five years.

During his interview with Today, Bradshaw shared that his skin cancer was treated by doctors at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. "Folks, I may not look like my old self, but I feel like my old self. I'm cancer-free, I'm feeling great. And over time, I'm going to be back to where I normally am," Bradshaw said on NFL Sunday in October 2022.