As part of Nike’s “LiveStrong” campaign, Red Sox hurler and cancer survivor Jon Lester appeared in a one-minute video.
In it, Lester details his journey back to the major leagues after his battle with cancer.
“Getting back to the mound was harder than I thought it was going to
be,” Lester said in the video. “It was going to be like riding a bike
— get down to spring training, get in shape, start throwing, get
people out.
“It didn’t really work that way.”
Diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in August of 2006, Lester
underwent chemotherapy treatments in his hometown of Seattle. He
returned that spring to the minors, working his way through the system
until he was called up on July 23, 2007.
Lester won his first start against Cleveland and eventually won the
clinching game of the World Series. In May of 2008, Lester’s comeback
was complete, as he threw a no-hitter at Fenway Park against the Kansas
City Royals.
The video can be seen below, while others for the campaign can be seen on LiveStrong’s homepage.