World Series champion and two-time MLB All-Star Bobby Jenks has been diagnosed with Stage 4 stomach cancer.
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The right-handed pitcher, who won the 2005 World Series as a reliever for the Chicago White Sox, opened up about his diagnosis in a new interview with MLB.com. Jenks is currently hospitalized and receiving radiation treatment in Portugal.
“They are not going to put any numbers on it. I wouldn’t even want numbers,” he shared of doctors’ estimates about his condition. “You hear stories all the time, ‘Oh, they gave me six months, 25 years ago.’ I don’t buy into that. Whatever happens is going to happen regardless.”
“Now it’s time to do what I got to do to get myself better and get myself more time,” Jenks added. “I’ll tell you one thing: I’m not going to die here in Portugal.”
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Jenks retired from baseball in 2012 after a botched back surgery led to subsequent medical concerns. Following his surgeries, he also became addicted to painkillers, receiving multiple DUI charges before ultimately entering inpatient rehab.
“You know, the sh*t I was doing in my 20s and early 30s, no normal person would have survived,” Jenks said of his health in the MLB.com interview. “So, in one way, I’m grateful to be alive. In another way, I’m not surprised this happened. It goes to show you have to take care of yourself from top to bottom with nutrition and exercise and having a good daily plan.”
“I’m not saying you need to turn yourself into a Greek god, but you need to watch what you put into your body,” he added. “Unfortunately, in my 20s, it was the last thing on my mind, being worried about what was going in.”
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Compounding his health concerns is the fact that Jenks lost his home in the recent Palisades fire in California. The pitcher lost nearly all his MLB memorabilia in the blaze.
Thankfully, he still has his World Series ring. It was with him in Chicago, where he currently manages the Windy City Thunderbolts, a Frontier League baseball team.
“It’s awful to think about,” Jenks said. “It’s just been a whirlwind.”
“I’ve got one suitcase left to my name,” Jenks said. “Everything else I’ve ever done… All those things are irreplaceable.”
For now, however, the record-breaking closer is focusing on one battle at a time. Jenks and his second wife, Eleni Tzitzivacos, made the off-season movie to Portugal with their five children to be closer to her family.
Jenks also has four children from his first marriage to Adele Romeke.
“My job is to do everything I can to keep myself in the best possible mental and physical state I can during the process, especially for the kids,” he shared.
“At the end of the day I feel, just as a whole, everybody needs to be more mindful about what they put in their bodies,” he added. “Be more careful and be conscious of where they are getting their information, as well.”