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Many were wondering why Fumihito Haraguchi was not on the list of players heading to the top squad spring camp in Okinawa, which starts on February 1. The 26-year old catcher announced on his newly-started Twitter account that he has colorectal cancer. He hand-wrote the announcement and posted it there. It did not mention how far along it is, but said he will enter the hospital in the days to come, have surgery, and work hard to recover as quickly as possible. Needless to say, he will not be participating in spring training this year.
This is what his tweet says: “Thank you all for your continued support. I have an announcement to make. At the end of last year, heading into my tenth year as a pro ball player, I went for a complete medical checkup and was told that I have cancer. When I heard that word, needless to say I was shocked and shaken. But as a professional baseball player, I feel like this sickness is part of my mission. I will work my hardest to come back from this and provide home and dreams, especially to others who are suffering from the same disease, as well as their families. As far as the future goes, I plan on having surgery done in the days to come, and then working hard to return to baseball as quickly as I can.
“I have my family, my fans, and other fellow cancer patients on my side. I’m just going to keep looking ahead and keep moving forward. I hope you will continue to support me and cheer me on.”
Haraguchi was once on a developmental player contract, but broke through during then-manager Tomoaki Kanemoto‘s first year (2016) which had the slogan “ultra reform.” He obtained full roster status on April 27 of that year and quickly picked up his first hit, first home run, and won Player of the Month Award for the month of May. That made him the first player in NPB to have achieved that feat after having once been a developmental player. He was chosen to the all-star team that year, and finished with a .299 average, 11 home runs and 46 RBIs. The next season was a rough one for him, but in 2018, he tied a club record for single-season pinch hits with 23. His clutch hitting made him an indispensable part of the team.
Haraguchi was working hard on his defense in an attempt to become the club’s main catcher this coming season. Though he has been hit with this sudden hardship, he vows to make it back to the playing field. Knowing Haraguchi, it is bound to happen.
Here is a doctor’s analysis of the situation, as seen on Sanspo:
“Getting colorectal cancer at the young age of 26 is unusual, but as long as it hasn’t spread to other parts of his body, there is a high probability of full recovery just from surgery. This type of surgery is often performed laparoscopically by making small holes in several places in the patient’s stomach, inserting a laparoscope (endoscope) and cutting the cancerous parts out of the intestinal tract. The surgery will not require us to cut open his stomach. The chances of the cancer spreading or recurring after surgery are minimal.
“Post-surgery schedule could vary depending on the facility, but for a few days he will drink only water, and 3-4 days later, should be able to eat regular meals. He could be discharged from the hospital within 10-14 days. In a month he will be able to exercise. Obviously we will need to observe the patient to ensure there are no further complications, but he won’t necessarily need to rest for very long after receiving clearance from the doctors.”