Longtime Phillies pitcher Curt Schilling announced last week that he was in remission after a bout with oral cancer. Diagnosed in February, he immediately underwent treatment. Schilling also said that he believes the blame is on his nearly 30-year habit of using smokeless tobacco. The always outspoken baseball legend stated emphatically his belief that chewing tobacco was the problem, which is becoming a hot topic in baseball after the beloved Tony Gwynn passed away earlier this summer.
Strangely enough, Schilling did not become aware of his problem until something unexpected happened (via Boston Globe):
"This all came about from a dog bite. I got bitten by a dog... I was driving [to the doctor] and I went to rub my neck and I felt a lump on the left side of my neck."
Not one to mince words, Schilling said that he had no doubt that his habit of using chewing tobacco was the cause of his cancer, but he wasn't acting holier-than-thou (via USA Today):
"I'm not going to sit up here from the pedestal and preach about chewing. I will say this: I dipped for about 30 years, and it was an addictive habit..."
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