Butler Offers Galarraga Encouragement

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As Andres Galarraga begins the battle against cancer, Brett Butler knows how the Big Cat must be feeling. "The first thing you think about is, 'I'm going to die,'" Butler said Friday. "Then the ol' mind monster starts, and you don't know how bad it is or what you're going to go through." Galarraga, diagnosed on Wednesday, was released from Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta on Friday night and will begin treatment near his home in West Palm Beach, Fla. Butler began his own struggle with the disease in 1996, when a cancerous tumor was discovered in his tonsils. He underwent excruciating surgery and six weeks of radiation treatments, but recovered to play another full season before retiring. If Galarraga wants "to talk to someone in the cancer family," Butler said he is only a phone call away. Nearly three years after diagnosis, there is no sign of a recurrence. "This has become a ministry for me," said Butler, who lives in the Atlanta suburb of Duluth. "I want to encourage and give people some insight on the positive side of what they're going through, because initially I was scared to death." Galarraga, cleanup hitter and first baseman for the Braves, has a tumor lodged on a bone at the base of his spinal column, according to Dr. Charles Henderson. Henderson said Friday the tumor is stage 2 -- stage 4 being the most advanced -- and will be treated with five months of chemotherapy and one month of radiation. Galarraga will miss this season, but doctors are optimistic of a full recovery and his playing career resuming in 2000. Butler, who relied on both conventional and alternative treatments after his diagnosis, encouraged Galarraga to keep a positive attitude and gather as much information as possible about possible treatments. Email: javydaman@juno.com