Former NHLer Dale Hawerchuk battling cancer once again

Hall of Famer and former NHLer Dale Hawerchuk and his family thought that he was clear of cancer after completing chemotherapy in April of this year, but it would appear as though Hawerchuk will have to endure another battle with the deadly disease, following a resurgence. The news was confirmed by Hawerchuk's son Eric via Twitter on Sunday.

This is devastating news for not only the Hawerchuk family, but the hockey community as a whole. Hawerchuk had undergone a successful gastrectomy in January and had been doing extremely well in May of this year. Here's what he had to say during his recovery:

“It's been a long road since I was diagnosed in August last year, but it was nice to be able to complete Plan A from my doctor and my surgeon. So I did chemo, then surgery, then chemo and I go for some scans at the end of the month here and we'll see where it's at. But I've been feelin' really good. I mean, I've gone from a point where in the fall I needed a feed tube to survive. I couldn't eat any food, the cancer had gotten too big in my stomach and at the juncture of my stomach and oesophagus, so the feed tube saved my life for probably two and a half months there and then somehow — I never thought I would — but I got an appetite back and I'm eating again, so those are all good signs.”

A tough hand to be dealt, for sure. We all know someone who has been impacted by the disease. It's an awful situation for the Hawerchuk family - or any family for that matter - to be in.

Hawerchuk registered 1409 points in 1188 games over a 16-season NHL career, the bulk of which was with the Winnipeg Jets.

We wish the former Jets captain and his family all the best through this next chapter of his courageous battle.

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