Hockey Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk completes final round of chemotherapy
Former Jets star fighting stomach cancer, took leave from job as Barrie Colts coach
Hockey Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk completed his final round of chemotherapy on Monday.
Hawerchuk's son Eric announced the news on Twitter, saying "we hope" it was the end of his father's fight against stomach cancer.
Today my dad finished his final round of chemo Protocol in Barrie. Got to ring the “Bell of Hope” on his way out. “We hope” this is the end of a long journey but he’s ready for anything. Thanks to everyone who has reached out. Means the world to us.Thinking of you all <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DaleStrong?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DaleStrong</a> <a href="https://t.co/4mP58YY3Ie">pic.twitter.com/4mP58YY3Ie</a>
—@EricHawerchuk"Today my dad finished his final round of chemo Protocol in Barrie. Got to ring the "Bell of Hope" on his way out. "We hope" this is the end of a long journey but he's ready for anything," Eric tweeted. "Thanks to everyone who has reached out. Means the world to us.Thinking of you all #DaleStrong."
Around that time, Hawerchuk told NHL.com he was struggling with the treatment.
"The chemo has hit me pretty hard," Hawerchuk said. "I do it one week and it breaks the body down and then the next week I take a break and build my body up so I can do it again. I have to do that for two months. I really struggle to eat and have a feeding tube, but the last few days I've been able to eat a little bit, too. You've got to keep your nutrition up.
"For some reason the Lord put me in this kind of fight and I'm ready to fight it. I want to live to tell the story."
Hawerchuk has coached Barrie since the 2010-11 season. He had 518 goals and 891 assists in 1,888 regular-season games with Winnipeg, Buffalo, St. Louis and Philadelphia. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001.
With files from The Associated Press
