ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 21, 1997 TAG: 9702210078
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
Lance Armstrong, America's top cyclist who is recovering from testicular cancer, is encouraged by his progress but still is not sure when he can return to competition.
``I just don't know how it's going to be when I come back, whether I'm going to have the same form that I had before,'' Armstrong said.
``My doctors have said that everything looks good, but that they would spend the next 12 months really focusing on my health. My priority is just to live and live a full and healthy life. It's not so much about racing and winning again.''
In the meantime, the 25-year-old cyclist is planning his autobiography and organizing a charity race in Austin, Texas, on March 23.
The ``Race for the Roses'' will raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which has focused on cancer awareness.
Armstrong, the 1993 world road race cycling champion, a two-time Tour de France stage winner and two-time Tour DuPont titlist, was diagnosed with testicular cancer in October.
He completed 12 weeks of chemotherapy in December and has been riding about an hour every day. His doctors have indicated that the earliest he could ride competitively again would be July, meaning he would miss this year's Tour de France.
Armstrong, whose cancer was considered extremely advanced and had even reached his brain, said he isn't thinking about racing right now. He said he simply wants his cancer to remain in remission.
``There's still a possibility that this could come back and kill me,'' Armstrong said. ``That's a very scary thing. We are barely out of it. I finished the chemo in December and it's been two months, but they are going to follow me closely for five years.''
His doctors have said they don't know if he will ever be back to 100 percent because they don't know how much he has been weakened by the chemotherapy.
Armstrong's doctors say they have been inundated with inquiries about whether trauma from extended time on a bicycle could cause testicular cancer.
``There's nothing to suggest that at all,'' said Dr. J. Dudley Youman, Armstrong's cancer specialist.
LENGTH: Short : 49 linesby CNB