Cyclist Set To Return To Saddle
Associated Press, Dec 21, 1996

Cycling star Lance Armstrong hopes to ride competitively in 1997 after tests showed there's no cancer in his body, the Austin-American Statesman reported Friday. Doctors told Armstrong that he will not likely need more chemotherapy or surgery, the newspaper reported. Armstrong is the 1993 world road race champion, a two-time Tour de France stage winner and a two-time Tour DuPont titlist.

"I'm almost back to normal," Armstrong told the newspaper. "But I don't have my old life back. Yet." In October, Armstrong had a cancerous testicle removed and was undergoing chemotherapy to fight the disease that had spread to his stomach and lungs. He also underwent surgery to remove two small brain lesions.

Armstrong said he wanted to promote awareness of testicular cancer. He said if he had been more aware of the symptoms, he would have sought treatment long before he began feeling pain in one testicle and coughing up blood.

Able to focus on something other than his cancer treatments, Armstrong plans to be with his parents for Christmas, then fly to South Florida. "I need some warmer weather and flatter roads said Armstrong, who has been prevented from riding because of frigid weather. Armstrong, 25, won't rush his comeback. "I could go in April or May but I may have to wait until August, because even if I was ready to come back in June or July, that the Tour de France, and I don't want to make that my first race."

Thursday, Armstrong woke up with a sore throat, and doctors told him his white blood cell count was too low as a side effect of his final week of chemotherapy. "Looking back, what I did this week, it was probably too much," Armstrong said, referring to a series of social engagements.