On Monday, November 5th, the Indiana Pacers will welcome Tyler Trent, the Purdue “superfan” suffering from bone cancer, into their radio booth for one night.
“FINALLY happy to announce that this Monday, November 5th I will have the privilege and blessing of being able to sit side-by-side with Mark Boyle and Slick Leonard and call the Pacers vs. Rockets game. Folks, you won’t want to miss this!” tweeted Trent.
Trent, a Purdue graduate has seen his story featured on multiple national media outlets including ESPN’s College Gameday and SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt after the superfan attended Purdue’s football victory over Ohio State.
“All of us with the Pacers have followed Tyler’s inspirational fight with cancer from afar, and I know I speak for all of us when I say I feel both excited and honored that he’s including us on his journey,” play-by-play voice Mark Boyle said via Twitter.
The 20-year old Trent is in his third bout with osteosarcoma, a rare disease, but the most common form of bone cancer. The Carmel, IN native began his first fight with the disease at the age of 15.
Following several surgeries and chemotherapy, the osteosarcoma went into remission before returning again at the age of 18. More surgery and chemo again sent the disease into remission, but after being diagnosed with the disease for a third time in March, Trent says previous treatments will not work, leaving him with a 20-30 percent chance of finding one that is effective.
Trent has been very open about his fight, using his strength and faith to inspire others and bring awareness to the disease. Monday night’s contest against the Rockets, featuring Trent in the radio booth, can be heard on the Pacers flagship station, 1070 The Fan.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.