Iowa State Cyclones

Meyers opens up about cancer diagnosis: 'I was stunned'

Published Apr. 24, 2015 4:57 a.m. ET

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When Iowa State defensive end Mitchell Meyers went to the doctor to get his neck checked out, he never imagined leaving the office that day with news that would change his life.

“My neck was swollen and it felt like someone had their hand on my throat,” Meyers recalled Thursday while speaking with reporters for the first time since his diagnosis was announced.

“I didn’t think I needed to go to the doctor. I mean, how do you fix a swollen neck? The trainers suggested I should go to the doctor and they took a chest X-ray. I knew something wasn’t right when they came back with the results. I then went to the emergency room and got a CT scan. That’s when they told me it was lymphoma. I was stunned. I said, ‘Could it be anything else?’”

The Cyclones' defensive end was in suspended shock as he received the news.

“All I had was a swollen neck,” Meyers said. “I thought if you had cancer you were sick and ill. It was incredibly strange.”

Since his diagnosis, Meyers has received an outpouring of support from family, friends, and fans from all over the nation.

“My teammates and coaches have shown a tremendous amount of support,” he said. “It’s been great and it’s good to have all of these people behind me.”

(h/t Iowa State Athletics)

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