Former Seahawks punter Jon Ryan diagnosed with skin cancer
Mar 23, 2020, 4:07 PM
Punter Jon Ryan was a fan favorite during his 10 years with the Seahawks. (AP)
(AP)
Former Seahawks punter Jon Ryan revealed Monday on the Growing the Game podcast that he has been diagnosed with skin cancer. The diagnosis comes despite being vigilant in protecting his skin and getting the recommended checks.
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“My mother lathered me in sunscreen growing up and I have always been very diligent,” Ryan told Growing the Game host Michael Ball. “I’ve gone once a year to the dermatologist to get a full-body scan to get everything checked, and I have a mark on my neck they’re a little concerned about. Last year they froze it off and it grew back even bigger so they identified that it was skin cancer.”
The 38-year-old Ryan, who currently plays for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL, has been given a good prognosis being told that he is dealing with a slow-moving cancer. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, his surgery has been pushed back.
“The doctor is very confident that he can wait until this coronavirus has swept through to be able to operate on,” Ryan said.
The doctor isn’t the only one who is confident about Ryan getting past this. His wife Sarah Colonna posted her own update on Twitter Monday afternoon.
He’s going to be totally fine- thank you all for the nice thoughts – Luckily he gets his skin checked yearly and after they remove the spot he will be all good, it is contained to that spot.
Just – Use it as a reminder to get your yearly scans! https://t.co/a3EJk0jxy9
— Sarah Colonna (@sarahcolonna) March 23, 2020
Ryan has a history of cancer in his family. His father passed away from it and mother dealt with thyroid cancer earlier in life. This obviously is news nobody wants to get but Ryan sees an opportunity to make the most of his situation.
“Whenever you hear that word it puts a little bit of a scare into you,” he admitted. “I want to make that a kind of message to your people to just be careful with your skin. You can’t even do enough. You have to keep getting checked by the dermatologist and do your own body scans as much as possible.”
Ryan spent 12 years in the NFL, the last 10 coming with the Seahawks from 2009-17. He was a fan favorite during his time with Seattle and even threw a touchdown in the Seahawks’ NFC championship victory over the Green Bay Packers in January 2015 (see link below).
Follow 710 ESPN Seattle’s Shannon Drayer on Twitter.
From 2015: Jon Ryan on special teams fake that started Hawks’ comeback
