BOSTON — After not speaking for several months, longtime ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale broke his silence by talking publicly with the doctor who treated him for cancer.
In a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, Vitale was joined by Dr. Steven Zeitels at the Massachusetts General Hospital to officially use his vocal cords for the first time in seven months.
"I'm emotional. I'm excited. I didn’t speak, now you got to understand, for seven months, and you are the first people hearing my voice in a long, long time,” he said in the video posted to X.
According to Zeitels, the 84-year-old has gone through a number of procedures to manage the vocal cord cancer he was diagnosed with back in July and overtime required radiotherapy, which is completed now.
"He's done remarkably well, the tissues are all healed," Zeitels said. "At this point, he can start using his voice. He'll see how long it takes to recover."
The doctor explained there was a plan to look under the microscope in the operating room but with everything looking good and cancer-free, they decided to wait on doing that.
Later on down the road, there may be a "through the mouth" procedure done to enhance Vitale's voice further.
"But given the remarkable recovery he's had in the last few weeks, the best pathway now is patience," the doctor explains. "Let's see how Dick can heal himself and get back to what he loves to do which is being with all of you and announcing."
At the end of the video, Vitale announced plans to get back in his announcer chair on Nov. 28 when the Miami Hurricanes face off against the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington, Kentucky.
“I hope and pray that I can be there. I plan on being there and I plan on being, really, in moderation up until that time,” Vitale explained. “Take care.
"I love all of you, and thank all of you for your prayers and the unbelievable love you've sent me. It meant so much to me.”
The 84-year-old confessed treatment has been tough while getting emotional, stating, "It's been tough, but boy, I just say have faith, think positive and I've tried to do that."
According to WCVB, Zeitels has also treated well-known names such as Adele, Steven Tyler, Sam Smith and Julie Andrews.