ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) – Eight months after getting the stunning news that he had cancer, Chiefs Pro Bowl safety was expected back on the practice field Wednesday, a day after doctors gave him the all-clear.
The Chiefs medical staff and his own doctors put him through a battery of tests Tuesday and the team later announced he would join quarterbacks, rookies and select injured players for the first practice of training camp on the campus of Missouri Western State University. Berry was scheduled to speak to reporters after practice.
Berry was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease last December, shortly after complaining of pain in his chest following a game against Oakland. He was treated at Emory University in Atlanta almost immediately, and went through the final round of treatment in June.
“He’s kept himself in good shape, believe it or not,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said earlier Tuesday, before Berry was cleared to return. “He’s really done a good job there.”
Hodgkin’s disease, also called Hodgkin’s lymphoma, is a cancer of the immune system that makes up about 8 percent of all diagnosed lymphomas. According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 9,000 people will be diagnosed with it in the United States this year.