'I'M BLESSED'
‘I’m at peace’ US Olympic legend Scott Hamilton refuses to treat third brain cancer and ‘not looking at it again’
The Olympics ice skating icon ended a United States gold-medal drought
US Olympic great Scott Hamilton has made the decision to not treat his third brain cancer.
The 65-year-old figure skating icon won gold for the United States in 1984.
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Hamilton had surgeries twice to treat brain cancer, first in 2004 and once more in 2010.
However, the second surgery had complications which meant he needed nine different surgeries.
The tumor would return in 2016, but Hamilton told that he didn't want to undergo another "complicated" surgery.
"When they gave me the diagnosis, they said, it’s back," he told the magazine.
"And so they brought in this guy, a really young, talented surgeon, and he said, 'We could do the surgery again. It’d be complicated, but we’ve got really talented people here that we could bring in, and I know we could pull it off if that’s an option for you.'"
Hamilton would tell his doctor he would "go home and get strong" instead of being worked on surgecially.
Unfortunately, after the tumor had initially shrunk, a later checkup in early 2020 revealed it swelled up more.
And Hamilton couldn't be operated on during the beginning of COVID.
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"Going into any kind of hospital situation was almost impossible,' Hamilton said.
'"So in my spirit, in my inner being, I realized, 'I'm totally at peace with not even looking at it again. Unless I become symptomatic.'"
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Hamilton will use a different type of way to treat his tumor in the present-day.
"The ace I have up my sleeve is that now there is a targeted radiation therapy that will shrink the tumor," he explained.
"And in that, I can avoid a lot of other things like surgery and chemo... I'm blessed beyond my wildest imagination."
Hamilton won the gold medal at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo.
His victory ended the 24-year drought for US men's Olympic figure skating.
He also won gold at the 1984 Ottawa World Championships before becoming a professional.
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