Per his Instagram:

"I’ve been debating for months as to how or even if I should share this with people. – I’m a firm believer in the power of prayer. So now, I’m asking for prayers. – A few months ago, after I was optioned to AAA, I found out I had a growth on my thyroid. Flying back & forth from Toronto to Buffalo after pitching to have more and more tests done it was finally concluded that the growth is considered malignant.. Meaning it contained the C word.. cancer. Hearing this was alarming, yea. Weird, yea, that too. I was given the option to shut my year down & get it removed immediately. However, seeing another doctor that determined I could wait until the end of the season reassured my gut feeling. Just Keep Playing. Baseball kept me sane. Regardless of results on the field, I forgot about it when I was between the lines. Afterall, I was just trying to get the heck out of AAA. & I did. I was revived with an opportunity, a blessing from God, with the Tigers back in the Big Leagues. So yea, the power of prayer.. It got me through this season. Now that it’s over it’s time to get this thing out, so please keep me in your thoughts & prayers as I undergo surgery & come out 100% cancer free! As always,,, #justkeeplivin"


First and foremost - thoughts and prayers to Daniel as he battles this...I dont have a clue on the mortality rate of thyroid cancer, but it seems like its not too serious (as far as cancer goes) if the doctors told him he could finish out the season?

As for the Tigers....I assume they were told of his condition before trading for him? Norris clearly knew that he had the cancer back when he was with the blue jays, and the team knew too since he was flying back and forth to have tests done..I hope all parties involved were told (he passed a physical so I assume they knew) which gives me hope that this is a very beatable diagnosis, and he should be able to not only pitch in the big leagues again, but most importantly, live a long and healthy life

Per freep:

Tigers general manager Al Avila told reporters that the team knew about Norris' cancer before trading for him and that the team expects him to make a full recovery and return by spring training.

I am not sure on the Cancer and hope he gets better ....get well soon DN!!!!!!

As long as it hasn't spread and it's type 1 or 2 solid 100% survival. But they base that on just 5 years past the original diagnosis.

Hope all goes well for the young man..

tbone413 said:

Per freep:

Tigers general manager Al Avila told reporters that the team knew about Norris' cancer before trading for him and that the team expects him to make a full recovery and return by spring training.

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I was wondering about this since I hadn't seen it stated anywhere yet and Norris said he kept it quiet until now. That had to be tough to work through, but I admire this kid's attitude and approach to it and to the game in general.

I'm not sure what this means treatment-wise. I'm assuming he'll get surgery and likely chemo/radiation, and probably some steroids and other meds that typically aren't allowed by MLB. What are the rules around this? I'd guess that MLB would allow whatever is needed to treat the disease, but sometimes they have dumb rules that do more harm than good. I recall there being at least one other young pitcher who battled cancer (Red Sox, maybe?), but don't remember any of the other details around this stuff.

I obviously hope he makes a full recovery, even if it means he misses time with the team. Crazy to read this today. Definitely not news you expect on someone so young and who probably sees more doctors and trainers than 99% of the population.

Chemotherapy is seldom helpful for most types of thyroid cancer, but fortunately it is not needed in most cases.

Heartbreaking news for this good young man.

Prayers for him to make a full recovery.

I wish nothing but the best for him. He seems like a good soul. We all know people in our lives who have cancer. The only important thing is that he hopefully beats it...regardless of what happens in his baseball career.

But now I'm going to ask the obvious question....why in the F would the Tigers trade for a 22 year old who has cancer??? My only hope for him is he beats cancer. But from the Tigers side this opens up a lot of questions.

manchild98 said:

I wish nothing but the best for him. He seems like a good soul. We all know people in our lives who have cancer. The only important thing is that he hopefully beats it...regardless of what happens in his baseball career.

But now I'm going to ask the obvious question....why in the F would the Tigers trade for a 22 year old who has cancer??? My only hope for him is he beats cancer. But from the Tigers side this opens up a lot of questions.

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Cancer, of any kind, is bad. But it's like the junior high of cancer. You don't even need a thyroid. Get rid of the sucker..

manchild98 said:

I wish nothing but the best for him. He seems like a good soul. We all know people in our lives who have cancer. The only important thing is that he hopefully beats it...regardless of what happens in his baseball career.

But now I'm going to ask the obvious question....why in the F would the Tigers trade for a 22 year old who has cancer??? My only hope for him is he beats cancer. But from the Tigers side this opens up a lot of questions.

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I am with you. Except the person who made this trade is long gone.

I will hope for the best. However, the scouting report on Norris wasn't very flattering to start. By all accounts, he is destined for the pen before this announcement (despite many predicting he would be our #3 starter next year). How can any treatment help him overcome the issues he has with stamina and secondary/tertiary pitches? It just makes the hill he has to climb that much tougher. And now there will be some using this as an excuse if he doesn't make it as a starter.

Rebbiv said:

I am with you. Except the person who made this trade is long gone.

I will hope for the best. However, the scouting report on Norris wasn't very flattering to start. By all accounts, he is destined for the pen before this announcement (despite many predicting he would be our #3 starter next year). How can any treatment help him overcome the issues he has with stamina and secondary/tertiary pitches? It just makes the hill he has to climb that much tougher. And now there will be some using this as an excuse if he doesn't make it as a starter.

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If he is a BP arm next year let's hope he is a great one!

Why would he delay treatment and whole 6 montjs is my only thought. It does not take that long to get a second opinion. Did the Tigers know about this ? Hope he gets better but a lot of info is missing.

biggunsbob said:

Why would he delay treatment and whole 6 montjs is my only thought. It does not take that long to get a second opinion. Did the Tigers know about this ? Hope he gets better but a lot of info is missing.

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I agree 100% with him to wait. What if something goes wrong and he can't play ever again? At least he has these memories and he knows he could compete against the best in the world.

I was lucky (my parents disagree) but I was 2 when I was diagnosed with cancer. I lost a kidney and have a hell of a scar to show for it. I don't remember any of it. But I would have asked to delay the surgery if I would have been playing in high school even more the mlb.

Wasnt Norris a top 10 pick in the draft / their second best prospect? I would hope that he amounts to more than a BP Arm. But, just goes to show that prospects are a crap shoot at best.

tbone413 said:

Wasnt Norris a top 10 pick in the draft / their second best prospect? I would hope that he amounts to more than a BP Arm. But, just goes to show that prospects are a crap shoot at best.

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Nope. 2nd round pick, 74th overall.

But, yes, all picks are gamble, but especially high schoolers and Norris was a HS pick.

http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2015/10/daniel_norris_says_he_is_cance.html#incart_river
Detroit Tigers' Daniel Norris says he is cancer-free following successful thyroid surgery.
Mlive

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2015/10/29/detroit-tigers-daniel-norris/74828580/
Tigers' Norris says surgery a success, now cancer-free.
Freep

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sp...-daniel-norris-says-hes-cancer-free/74829886/
Tigers' Daniel Norris says he's cancer-free.
Detnews

http://m.tigers.mlb.com/news/article/155937602/daniel-norris-announces-he-is-cancer-free
Norris announces successful thyroid surgery.
Young Tigers lefty posts photo after procedure, says he is 'cancer-free'.
Tigers official site

http://beck.mlblogs.com/2015/10/29/daniel-norris-says-hes-cancer-free-after-surgery/
Daniel Norris says he’s cancer free after surgery.
JasonBeck'sTigersBlog

Great news!