Eagle's Wide Receiver Vince Papale Talks About Colon Cancer

"New head coach Dick Vermeil has decided to invite one person and one person only. He is Philadelphia native, Vince Pa-pale, a former teacher who didn't even play college ball."

IN THE MOVIE "INVINCIBLE," HOLLYWOOD IMMORTALIZED THE STORY OF VINCE PAPALE, A PHILADELPHIA NATIVE WHO--AT AGE 30--OVERCAME GREAT ODDS TO PLAY PRO FOOTBALL FOR HIS HOMETOWN EAGLES. FOR A SON OF A CITY KNOWN FOR ITS CINEMATIC UNDERDOGS, PAPALE WAS THE REAL DEAL.

VINCE: It was great to be called a real life Rocky. Rocky's an icon here in Philadelphia.

The whole experience gave me the feeling and the attitude that there's nothing that can be thrown in front of me that I can't achieve that I can't overcome.

EVEN AFTER HIS NFL DAYS, PAPALE CONTINUED TO WORK HARD TO STAY IN SHAPE.

VINCE: I was in phenomenal condition for a 55 year old and was running around chasing my kids.

BUT YEARS OF PUNISHMENT ON THE FIELD HAD TAKEN THEIR TOLL.

JANET: He starts complaining. He never complains. "Do you have a problem? No, no. "It's just my sciatica or it's my shoulder. " I go "get it checked."

HIS WIFE, JANET, HAD TO KEEP PUSHING.

JANET: A lot of athletes are notorious for not getting themselves checked. They work through pain. And being a football player in particular like "this is not macho."

PAPALE FINALLY WENT FOR A PHYSICAL AND DURING THE EXAM HIS DOCTOR URGED HIM TO HAVE A COLONOSCOPY, A SCREENING TEST FOR COLON CANCER. AGAIN, AT HIS WIFE'S INSISTENCE, HE AGREED. A SHORT TIME LATER, THE DOCTOR CALLED WITH SOME SHOCKING NEWS.

VINCE: He said that polyp that was in there turned out to be cancerous. You've got to be kidding me. And immediately I said I took some big hits playing ball but nothing that sucked the air out of me, it just sucked it out of my body. It was really an emotional roller coaster for Vince.

PAPALE UNDERWENT SURGERY TO REMOVE A PORTION OF HIS COLON.

DR. INFANTOLINO: Luckily I was able to move my friends in pathology quickly on Vince and get him a reading. I remember calling him on the phone.

VINCE: And he said 'Dude, he says you're cured man, you're green and clean.'

DR. INFANTOLINO: And he broke out in tears, crying on the phone.

VINCE: I bawled like a baby. I started crying. Everybody thought I got the bad call, I got the good call. And I called my wife and said, 'honey we did it baby, we did it' And it was the greatest news.

JANET: We just happened to get it early, only because he had a pushy wife.

AN ATHLETE HERSELF, JANET KNEW FIRST HAND THAT NO ONE IS INVINCIBLE.

DR. INFANTOLINO: Vince would have never had his colonoscopy if he didn't have his wife pushing him.

VINCE: I was fortunate that I had someone who cared so much about me, that was relentless as she can be and said you've got to do this. It's more than about you. There's other people involved here. There's me, I love you. There's our children, they love you.

DR. INFANTOLINO: Thank God she did because she was really able to save his life.

EARLY DETECTION CAN PREVENT COLON CANCER AND IMPROVE THE ODDS OF CURING IT... WHICH IS WHY REGULAR SCREENING IS RECOMMENDED FOR EVERYONE 50 AND OLDER. THOSE AT HIGHER RISK SHOULD START EARLIER.

TODAY, VINCE PAPALE - THE ONCE-RELUCTANT PATIENT -SPREADS THE WORD ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF SEEING YOUR DOCTOR AND GETTING TESTED.

DR. INFANTOLINO: It's a sign that even the most macho guy should go out and get his colonoscopy done.

JANET: It's just about being smart and caring enough about yourself and respecting yourself.

VINCE: Don't wait, don't wait. If you have a family of people who love you, do it for them too, because you'll never know. I'm a perfect example of it.

This entry last modified on: December 12, 2011 10:33 AM