Scott Hamilton’s Inspiring Battle Against a Brain Tumor

Scott Hamilton is a renowned American figure skater. Born in August 1958, Hamilton became a four-time world champion and the gold medal winner in men’s figure skating in the 1984 Olympics. However, his story took a tragic turn when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1997. Although he recovered, it was unfortunately only his first encounter with the disease.

Life of an Olympian

After winning the Olympics, Hamilton went on to create his own touring company called Stars on Ice. He officially retired from skating in 2001, though he would still appear for guest performances on occasion. At the same time, became a TV skating commentator beginning in 1985. In 2002, he married the love of his life Tracie Robinson, and they eventually had two sons together. Less than a decade later, they also adopted two siblings who were orphaned from Haiti’s 2010 earthquake. But although Hamilton’s professional life flourished, his health took a drastic hit.

Scott Hamilton’s first cancer diagnosis

In 1997, Scott Hamilton was diagnosed and treated for testicular cancer. But not long after, doctors found a benign pituitary tumor, one they believed he was born with and caused his crippling illness in childhood. But this was the first of three benign tumors found in his brain. 

In 2004, this benign brain tumor was successfully treated with gamma knife radiation. However, the treatment damaged his pituitary gland, leading to chronic hormonal imbalances. 

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Scott Hamilton’s second brain tumor

In 2010, Hamilton underwent a surgery to remove a second pituitary tumor. Although the procedure was successful, it led to severe complications. The worst of which was a brain aneurysm. The doctors had accidentally nicked an artery, and although they had stemmed the bleeding at the time, Hamilton ended up back at the hospital for another nine surgeries. During this time, he suffered from partial-vision loss.

The third brain tumor

When he received his third diagnosis for a benign brain tumor in 2016, Hamilton took a different approach. He stated, “I’m not going to worry about this one unless I become symptomatic, like losing eyesight or other health issues. Then I have options.” So instead of traditional treatment, he improved his lifestyle, strengthened his body, and looked into holistic approaches. He also leaned on his Christian faith.

A new direction

“They asked me what I wanted to do,” Hamilton said to the Tennessean. “I said, ‘I’m going to go home and get as strong as I’m going to get.’ I didn’t know if it was physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, but that was the message.” For a while, Hamilton got scans to check the status of the tumor, but he eventually stopped since the pandemic hit.

“I celebrate every single day”

Many fans expressed concern over this decision but he reassures them. “I don’t want people to worry about me at all,” he said. “I’m playing with house money now. There are a lot of reasons I shouldn’t be here. And I am here. I celebrate every single day.” He explained that he just wanted to live a normal, productive life, and “be a good citizen and fund cancer research.”

The Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation

Cancer awareness has always been a cause close to Hamilton’’s heart after his adoptive mother died of skin cancer in 1977, when he was only a teenager. So in 2014, he created the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation, which funds cancer treatment research. CARES stands for  Cancer Alliance for Research Education and Survivorship.

“I never would’ve thought…”

“I never would’ve thought to dream any of the things that have happened to me,” says Hamilton to People. He has opened up about being adopted and being severely ill as a child.  “I never would’ve thought to dream that one day I would found a cancer organization that’s actually going to have impact and save lives. I never would’ve thought to dream that an Olympic gold medal experience would’ve allowed me to give so much back to my sport and help create a platform to give careers to so many of the greatest skaters in the history of the sport.”

“And to have my children and just how amazing they are, and my wife and how amazing she is? “I never would’ve thought to dream any of it.” 

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