Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Former Butler forward Andrew Smith fighting cancer for second time

Andrew Smith, Devon Scott

Andrew Smith, Devon Scott

AP

In February 2014 it was revealed that Andrew Smith, a forward on Butler’s two national runner-up teams in 2010 and 2011, was diagnosed with non-Hodgskins lymphoma and was undergoing treatments for the disease. The road to a clean bill health was a tough one for Smith and his wife, with Andrew suffering cardiac arrest in late July 2014 and lapsing into a coma that lasted three days.

Smith would recover from that as well, but on Friday the family revealed some bad news. In a post on their blog “Kicking Cancer with the Smiths,” Smith’s wife announced that the cancer has returned and Andrew has been undergoing treatment since May. Andrew will need a bone marrow transplant, for which a donor has been found.

“Andrew will have to undergo a bone marrow transplant. This is an intense procedure. It has great risks, but potentially, great reward,” Samantha Smith wrote. “This could be a cure. It could be an answer to prayer. It scares the heck out of me, but it’s our best option at this point. Thankfully, we have a donor. That was a huge victory in and of itself.

“Andrew will be out of commission for quite awhile and we would so appreciate your prayers over our next year or so. There will be some very tough days, days full of vomit and frustration. Pillowcases covered in thin, wispy hairs that have fallen off of Andrew’s head due to intense radiation and chemotherapy. Stacks of books and a Netflix queue full of movies and shows recommended by friends and family. This will be our life for the months to come.

“But who is ready to fearlessly face this thing head on? Andrew, of course,” Samantha continued. “Sure, we both went through sadness and confusion for awhile, but Andrew has handled the idea of this next phase like he always does- like a warrior. Cancer really picked the wrong guy to latch onto. We are about to kick its butt to kingdom come. For good.”

We wish Andrew and Samantha the best as they look to beat cancer once again.