Former British Open champion Tom Weiskopf was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on Monday and began his first chemotherapy treatment on Thursday.
“My stomach is a little queasy but I don’t feel nauseous and haven’t thrown up or anything,” he said via phone. “I did see a few guys who did.”
Weiskopf, 78, the winner of 16 PGA Tour titles and another four on PGA Tour Champions, was in Scottsdale, Arizona in late November for the re-opening of Troon Country Club, just days after participating in a two-part Q&A with Golfweek (Part II here). While walking the course with members, he said he experienced sharp pain in his stomach and underwent a CT Scan back home in Montana as soon as he returned there, which revealed a legion in his pancreas.
“If I hadn’t been in enough pain, I might have brushed it off and wasted a bunch of important time without coming to Miami,” he said.
Weiskopf flew there on Thanksgiving Day and underwent a battery of tests over the course of the next week at Miami Baptist Cancer Institute, which included MRIs, CT and Pet Scans, a genetic scan, blood work, and a biopsy of his pancreas, an organ in the abdomen that lies behind the lower part of the stomach. On Monday, he received his diagnosis and had a port put into his right shoulder to administer what he called “the cocktail.”
“I’ve got a rough 4-6 months ahead of me,” he said. “I had my first chemo today and the treatment lasted seven hours. I get the rest of the cocktail through my portable pump for 46 hours and then I get to rest up for 10-12 days before the next round.”
Weiskopf said the news was “quite a blow,” but he remains in good spirits and already had talked to friends in the golf world including, Jack Nicklaus, Tony Jacklin, Andy North, Ed Sneed and Lanny Wadkins. Weiskopf expressed enthusiasm that he was receiving the best possible care and would beat the disease.
“My doctor said, ‘I need three very important things from you.’ I said, ‘What’s that? I want to deliver,’ ” Weiskopf recounted.
“He said, ‘Let’s start with your attitude. You need to compete against this cancer. You’re going to have some difficult days. You can’t let this chemo get you down. You have to keep fighting. I’ve seen it in some cases where I didn’t know if the person was going to survive but they had such a positive attitude that they prevailed.’ I said, ‘I think I can do that.’
“The second thing I need from you is communication. You need to call your loved ones, call your friendships because they are good people to talk to when you’re down and out and someone will say something that resonates with you and changes your thinking in that moment and gets you through those tough days. You can’t shelter yourself away from this situation. You’ve got to be open and you need help.’
“The last and most important thing he said is, ‘Do you believe in God?’
“I said, ‘Of course, I do.’ He said, ‘Well, give Him a ring every once in a while.’ ”
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