Crushing Cancer

Boston College's Mark Herzlich battles his toughest foe
By Walter Villa

Sandy Herzlich still enjoys telling the story about his son Mark as a sixth-grader, when he won a basketball game with a half-court buzzer-beater and casually walked off the court as if it were no big deal.

Growing up in Wayne, Pa., everything came easy to Mark Herzlich. Whether it was academics, athletics or an altruistic attitude, the kid was a natural.

But life ceased being easy for Herzlich in the spring of 2009.

Not long after considering—but ultimately rejecting—the idea of applying for early-entry into the NFL Draft, the Boston College linebacker and 2008 ACC Defensive Player of the Year felt some discomfort in his left leg. "I would wake up in the middle of the night with a sharp pain," said Herzlich, a 6-4, 240-pounder. "I thought it was just soreness from practice."  It wasn't. Two months after he started feeling pain, Herzlich went to U-Penn Hospital for an MRI. When the results were in, the doctors asked to see Herzlich and his parents.

Tests showed Herzlich had Ewing's sarcoma, a rare and deadly form of bone cancer. Survival rate is only 10 percent if the disease gets in your blood stream and 70 percent if it doesn't. "

It was devastating at the beginning," Herzlich said of his reaction to the news, made public May 14, 2009. "I had no idea what it meant, what the treatments were like. I didn't know if I would make it or if I only had a month to live. It was draining.

" Boston College quarterback Codi Boek, who is also Herzlich's roommate, said Mark texted him and other close friends with the awful news. "He said he wanted us to hear it from him but that he loved us and that he was going to be OK," Boek said. "It was a shock. I knew he had something going on with his leg, but no one was expecting that, especially to the biggest and strongest guy out there. As soon as I got the text, I called him. I was losing it. But he was composed."

Mark's parents, Sandy and Barbara Herzlich, were understandably emotional.

"We tried to be strong around Mark, but we were all devastated," Sandy said. "It's your worst nightmare as a parent."

Sandy said his emotional wall caved in just once, when he was in his backyard, behind the shed, where no one could see. "I cried my eyes out," he said. Herzlich, 22, said he took a week to deal with the news - seven days to figure out what to do with whatever time he had left.

"I decided I was going to fight," he said. "I wasn't going to worry about negative consequences."

Herzlich endured chemotherapy for two months. That was followed by five weeks of radiation and then five more grueling weeks of chemo. "The radiation burns your skin," Herzlich said. "But the chemo after the radiation was the worst. It wears down your body."

But Herzlich refused to wilt. Despite doctors' orders to rest, he played golf, did cardio and even lifted weights. And he used hot sauce to combat another problem. "Because of the chemo and the chemicals that were in my body, all my food tasted awful," Herzlich said. "That's common for chemo patients, and it's why they lose so much weight. But I found my food tasted better with hot sauce."

On Sept. 29, 2009, Herzlich got incredible news: The MRI showed the cancer had been eradicated. Herzlich was overjoyed but wary, because the MRI "doesn't show everything."

But he now calls Nov. 3, 2009 the best day of his life because that's when he had his final chemotherapy treatment. He also had surgery to fit a titanium rod in his femur to strengthen his leg. Doctors also performed a biopsy of the bone marrow, which revealed no cancer.

Herzlich, who needed only 3.5 years to earn his Bachelor's degree in marketing, is still at Boston College and is now working on his Master's in administrative studies.

He has one year left of football eligibility and took part in non-contact drills this past spring, prompting raves—and some skepticism—from BC coach Frank Spaziani.

"When I saw him working out, I couldn't believe it," Spaziani said. "If you saw him in drills, you'd say: 'I guess he's starting.' But he was nowhere near where he was in terms of strength. Mark has said his leg is not as flexible. We're deferring to Mark. He will let us know when he's ready."

Herzlich, who in 2008 had 110 tackles and led the nation's linebackers with six interceptions—including two returned for touchdowns—said he knows there are risks in returning to contact. But he insists he will let pain be his guide and will pull back if he feels he's in danger. "I love the game, but it's not worth it to me if the result means I lose my leg," he said. "I am going to be smart about this."

Still, Herzlich dreams about making the NFL in 2011 and plans to use this season as his springboard. "I don't want to be mediocre," said Herzlich, who added that 31 out of 32 NFL teams rated him a first-rounder had he entered the 2009 draft. "I want to play like I did two years ago and be the best in the conference."

Spaziani compares Herzlich to an astronaut. "Are you old enough to remember John Glenn?" asks Spaziani. "He was the first (American) to go into outer space. In other words, there is no blueprint for this. The doctors have cleared Mark for contact. Sure, we're apprehensive. It's like going to outer space. What's going to happen? There is anxiety and anticipation. We are all rooting for him. We want this to be a Cinderella story."

With BC's season set to start Sept. 4 against Weber State, Spaziani was asked what he expects from Herzlich.

"I have no idea," the coach said. "But I wouldn't sell him short." Boek, Herzlich's roommate, was asked if he was scared for Mark.

"I'm more afraid for what he might do to Weber State," Boek said with a laugh. "I think Mark is going to dominate just like he has since he got to college."

Just like sixth-grade basketball.