The tumor removed Wednesday from the thyroid of Patrick McCaffery — the 14-year-old son of University of Iowa men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery — is cancerous.
“Today, we received word from doctors that the tumor that was removed during our son Patrick’s surgery on Wednesday is malignant,” McCaffery said in a written statement issued late this afternoon. “We will visit with doctors as soon as possible to determine Patrick’s treatment.”
Patrick McCaffery, who turned 14 Thursday, underwent surgery in Iowa City early Wednesday morning. His father was in Iowa City for the surgery, then flew to Dayton where the Hawkeyes were set to play Tennessee Wednesday evening. University officials say he arrived about six hours before the game started at about 8 p.m.
“Margaret and I would like to thank everyone again for the outpouring of support from across the country for our son Patrick and family this past week,” McCaffery said in today’s written statement. “We appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers.”
The hashtag #TeamPat started trending on Twitter as the basketball community began rallying around the family earlier this week. Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg tweeted “hoping and praying for the best” on Wednesday. A Hawkeye fan from Dayton, Ohio, tweeted this Friday after the news the tumor was cancerous: “And once again basketball doesn’t seem so important right now.”