Scott Hamilton fighting brain tumor for third time: 'I don’t want people to worry about me'
World champ figure skater is moved by concerns about his health, but, he says, 'I don’t want people to worry about me at all; I’m playing with house money now.'
Brad Schmitt
Last week, Olympic champion Scott Hamilton, 65, reunited with the top two figure skaters he beat to earn his gold medal in 1984 — the silver medal winner, Brian Orser of Canada, and bronze medalist Jozef Sabovčík of Czechoslovakia.
"That’s extremely rare," an animated Scott Hamilton said in a phone interview Thursday with The Tennessean. "I can’t think of another podium that would want to be back together 40 years later."
The thrilling reunion meant even more to Hamilton because the occasion was a fundraiser for the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation, which funds cancer-battling research.
The cause is personal for Hamilton, who moved to Middle Tennessee in 2005.
His mom died from skin cancer in 1977, when Hamilton was a teenager. And Hamilton himself, who overcame testicular cancer in 1997, is facing a brain tumor for the third time in 20 years. The first time, radiation knocked it out. The second time, he had nine surgeries to get rid of the tumor.
This last time, when it came back in 2016, Hamilton — faced again with a difficult surgery — decided to forego any treatment until and unless he started experiencing symptoms. That decision has been the focus of multiple media reports this week, brought on by coverage of the 40th anniversary of his only Olympic gold.
Those reports triggered a flood of questions and concerns from fans, and Hamilton is moved by the outpouring.
He also has a message for those concerned about his health — remain calm. Hamilton is.
"I don’t want people to worry about me at all," he said. "I’m playing with house money now.
"There are a lot of reasons I shouldn’t be here. And I am here. I celebrate every single day."
Hamilton said when he got the news about the tumor returning this last time, he feels he received the spiritual direction to "get strong."
"They asked me what I wanted to do. I said, 'I’m going to go home and get as strong as I’m going to get.' I didn’t know if it was physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, but that was the message."
At first, he got scans every now and then, and sometimes the tumor was bigger, sometimes smaller. But he stopped going in for scans.
"I’m not going to worry about this one unless I become symptomatic, like losing eyesight or other health issues. Then I have options," he said.
"Right now, I’m just trying to really be productive and be as busy as I can, living as totally normal a life as I can. Be a good citizen and fund cancer research."
Reach Brad Schmitt at brad@tennessean.com or 615-259-8384.