Dick Vitale acknowledges new melanoma diagnosis

Dick Vitale arrives before a college basketball game between Duke and Texas on Nov. 4, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. ©Chris Carlson

Dick Vitale announced Monday that he has melanoma in his lung and liver cavity and will begin immunotherapy to battle his fifth form of cancer in the past few years.

“I’ve beaten melanoma. I’ve beaten lymphoma. I’ve beaten vocal cord cancer. I’ve beaten lymph node cancer,” the 86-year-old Vitale said in a statement. “I’m 4-for-4 and I’m fully confident I’m going to make it 5-for-5.”

The Hall of Fame broadcaster for ESPN just completed his 40th season covering college basketball. He announced in February that he was finally cancer-free.

In 2024, Vitale underwent surgery after a biopsy of a lymph node in his neck revealed cancer. It affected his voice, and he was away from ESPN for roughly 18 months before returning in a reduced role.

Vitale joined ESPN just after its launch during the 1979-80 basketball season and called the network’s first college basketball game on Dec. 5, 1979.

Vitale’s Dickie V Foundation raises funds for pediatric cancer research.

“I am truly overwhelmed by the love, support, prayers and messages I’ve received from so many people,” Vitale said. ”I’m incredibly blessed to have my family beside me, and my ESPN family — led by chairman Jimmy Pitaro — has been absolutely terrific. Their support has inspired me to keep fighting and I will do everything in my power to win another battle.

“The best news I can share today is this: I feel fantastic.”

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