Conner's focus turns to football after learning he's cancer-free

The days leading up to the PET scan that revealed the good news about Pitt running back James Conner's cancer were the most tense of his life.

He passed time playing basketball with high school friends and neighborhood kids in Erie. He talked and prayed with those closest to him.

Mostly, he nervously counted the minutes.

“You're getting a phone call telling you if you're living or dying,” family friend Mike Gallagher said.

Finally, Conner and his mother Kelly Patterson traveled from Erie to Shadyside's Hillman Cancer Center on Monday to hear if the chemotherapy, intended to kill the Hodgkin lymphoma tumors on his neck and chest, had worked.

When the scan was completed, UPMC oncologist Dr. Stanley Marks' phone went off the minute he stepped out of the scanner. Conner was calling.

“He said, ‘How's my scan look?' ” Marks said Tuesday during a news conference at the Duquesne Club. “I said, ‘James give me a few minutes.' ”

Conner wasn't alone in his anxiety. Marks said “everyone (at Hillman) — the nurses, the valet out front, the greeters and the people who bring him lunch — were “holding their breath” waiting for the news.

Conner compared the wait to the night of the NFL Draft when he sat with former Pitt teammate Tyler Boyd, whose phone didn't ring for 3 ¹⁄₂ hours.

“But this is better,” Conner said. “This is my life.”

It didn't take long for Marks to examine the scan, review its findings with his radiology team and come to the conclusion:

“We all concurred,” he said. “It was completely normal.”

Marks said Conner is in remission.

“I won't use the word ‘cured' yet, but there is no sign of cancer,” he said. “When we looked back at the original scan (in November) and how impressive his cancer was in terms of size and to see it 100 percent gone, we were all very excited.”

Conner was in the car with his mother when Marks called with the news.

“She is probably still crying right now,” Conner said. “Tears of joy. It was so much relief. Now it's back to doing what I love.”

After 12 chemo treatments every two weeks, some lasting as long as four hours, Conner said he's ready to resume the football career that brought him ACC Player of the Year honors in 2014.

“I have to get back into it,” he said. “I feel forgotten about in the college football world.

“I have the whole months of June and July to get my body right. I'm going to be smart about it, but I should be (100 percent).”

Marks said there is a “small chance” the cancer could return, and his medical team will continue periodic testing. But Marks said recurrence is “very unusual” after two years.

“Once the (chemo) port is out and (his chest) heals, he is free to do whatever he wants and engage in contact once practice starts back up,” Marks said. “There will be no restrictions.”

Conner, who worked out lightly with teammates during spring drills in March and April, said he should be physically ready to do everything when Pitt opens training camp in early August.

He said he did not lose weight during chemotherapy, actually gaining 5 pounds.

“Overall, he really tolerated it well,” said Marks, noting only a few times when Conner's white blood count dipped.

“One of the more common side effects is fatigue, particularly toward the end of therapy. It was remarkable he was able to function, go to practice, go on the treadmill and remain as active as he did. Most folks are pretty wiped out by then.”

Marks said there was a buzz at Hillman on the days Conner received treatment. He befriended many patients.

“He really served as an inspiration to all of the patients,” he said. “Those who were doing well and those who weren't.”

Conner thought of those people on the day of the scan.

“I'm getting the call that the cancer is gone,” he said.

“How many people is he calling saying they have cancer?”

Conner felt a bit self-conscious that he received so much attention during his cancer battle, throwing out the first pitch at a Pirates game and appearing on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” That's why he spent so much time with the other patients.

“I couldn't imagine doing this alone,” he said, admitting he often broke the hospital's rule of allowing no more than three people in the room during chemo.

“This is a great opportunity for me to help change lives and motivate others. That's what I'd like to do someday, start a foundation for people so they don't have to go through this alone. That's not fair.

“It's important to have a great supporting cast around you.”

Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.