Daniel Norris seeks prayers as he undergoes cancer surgery

Detroit Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris, a faithful member of the Central Church of Christ in Johnson City, Tenn., is asking for prayers as he undergoes surgery to remove a malignant growth on his thyroid.

Norris, who was featured in a profile in the October edition of The Christian Chronicle, made the request in an Instagram post Monday:

 “I’ve been debating for months as to how or even if I should share this with people. – I’m a firm believer in the power of prayer. So now, I’m asking for prayers. – A few months ago, after I was optioned to AAA, I found out I had a growth on my thyroid. Flying back & forth from Toronto to Buffalo after pitching to have more and more tests done it was finally concluded that the growth is considered malignant.. Meaning it contained the C word.. cancer. Hearing this was alarming, yea. Weird, yea, that too. I was given the option to shut my year down & get it removed immediately. However, seeing another doctor that determined I could wait until the end of the season reassured my gut feeling. Just Keep Playing. Baseball kept me sane. Regardless of results on the field, I forgot about it when I was between the lines. Afterall, I was just trying to get the heck out of AAA. & I did. I was revived with an opportunity, a blessing from God, with the Tigers back in the Big Leagues. So yea, the power of prayer.. It got me through this season. Now that it’s over it’s time to get this thing out, so please keep me in your thoughts & prayers as I undergo surgery & come out 100% cancer free! As always,,, #justkeeplivin”

The Detroit Free Press has more details.

Last month, Norris tweeted a link to the Chronicle’s story:

The reason behind it all. #2peter318 http://t.co/yvF28rQ7AV

— Daniel Norris (@DanielNorris18) September 21, 2015