BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) - ESPN's Chris Mortensen has throat cancer and will be off the air for treatment.
The senior NFL analyst said in a statement Friday that was he diagnosed with advanced throat cancer last week. He said more tests were planned to determine a treatment plan, which would begin in ''the very immediate future.''
The 64-year-old Mortensen said he was temporarily stepping away from his NFL coverage duties ''to fight the good fight that is projected to affect almost 1 .7 million Americans with new cases in 2016.''
Mortensen has been with ESPN since 1991.
ESPN President John Skipper said in a statement that Mortensen has ''the complete support of his entire ESPN family'' and that the network looks ''forward to his return whenever he chooses.''
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