tsb2000
07-02-2007, 08:51 PM
SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah Jazz guard Derek Fisher was released from his contract Monday to care for his 10-month-old daughter, who has cancer.
Fisher and his wife, Candace, said they needed time to search for the best treatment for their daughter, Tatum.
"Basketball is not a priority. I don't have plans to retire ... I would enjoy playing the game, but there are a lot of things to consider," Fisher said at a news conference Monday.
Fisher at times fought exhaustion trying to balance basketball and his daughter's welfare. Once, in May, he spent a day at a New York hospital, then flew back to Utah for a Western Conference semifinal game against the Golden State Warriors.
Tatum was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a cancerous tumor in her left eye. The danger is that it could spread to her brain or the rest of her body.
Tatum's twin, Drew, has no signs of the condition, which is one reason why Candace Fisher thought the light was reflecting oddly from Tatum's left eye. The Fishers took her to a few doctors before a pediatrician at the University of Utah recognized the problem.
Only 350 cases are diagnosed each year in North America, said Dr. A. Linn Murphree, director of the retinoblastoma program at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, who is not involved in the Fisher case.
In most cases, patients lose the eye rather than undergo chemotherapy, but there are exceptions, Murphree said.
Link to ESPN.com (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2924068)
Fisher and his wife, Candace, said they needed time to search for the best treatment for their daughter, Tatum.
"Basketball is not a priority. I don't have plans to retire ... I would enjoy playing the game, but there are a lot of things to consider," Fisher said at a news conference Monday.
Fisher at times fought exhaustion trying to balance basketball and his daughter's welfare. Once, in May, he spent a day at a New York hospital, then flew back to Utah for a Western Conference semifinal game against the Golden State Warriors.
Tatum was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a cancerous tumor in her left eye. The danger is that it could spread to her brain or the rest of her body.
Tatum's twin, Drew, has no signs of the condition, which is one reason why Candace Fisher thought the light was reflecting oddly from Tatum's left eye. The Fishers took her to a few doctors before a pediatrician at the University of Utah recognized the problem.
Only 350 cases are diagnosed each year in North America, said Dr. A. Linn Murphree, director of the retinoblastoma program at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, who is not involved in the Fisher case.
In most cases, patients lose the eye rather than undergo chemotherapy, but there are exceptions, Murphree said.
Link to ESPN.com (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2924068)