New Delhi, Nov 26: Cricketer Yuvraj Singh is recovering from treatment for a non-malignant tumour the size of a golf ball that doctors found in his left lung, and hopes to return to play by February, his family said today.
A biopsy and detailed medical scans have indicated that the 29-year old has a “non-malignant and non-threatening” tumour that can be treated through proper medication and therapy, his mother Shabnam Singh said in a statement released today.
She said Yuvraj was troubled by bouts of coughing and vomiting during and after the World Cup matches earlier this year. The initial medical tests revealed a golf ball-sized lump in his left lung which subsequent tests have shown as non-malignant and treatable, she said.
“Yuvraj is now in a much better state and on his way to a full recovery,” his mother said. “He doesn’t want to rush things, he wants to be 100 per cent fit before resuming his cricket for India and has started working hard on both his fitness and his cricket,” she said.
Doctors say a non-malignant lung tumour is a non-cancerous abnormal tissue growth that might arise from a fibroma or a lymph node but is easy to treat. “A non-malignant, benign lung tumour is non-cancerous --- it does not spread to other parts of the body, but it can get big,” said Sameer Kaul, the head of oncology at New Delhi’s Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, who was not associated with Yuvraj’s diagnosis or therapy.
Medical statistics suggest that benign lung tumours which may emerge from past infections or from abcesses make up less than five per cent of lung tumours. In many cases, a small benign tumour may not cause any symptoms.
Doctors say the choice of therapy depends on the symptoms, the size of the tumour, and whether the patient is a smoker. “In a non-smoker, if a benign lung tumour has not caused symptoms and has not doubled in size over the period of a year, we may continue observing for some more time,” Kaul told The Telegraph.
“But a benign tumour that is growing and causing symptoms needs to be excised,” he said.
According to lung specialists, surgical excisions of benign tumours, if at all required, may be carried out through small incisions, and no therapy is required after the excisions. “And the prognosis after therapy is excellent,” Kaul said.
Yuvraj’s mother said her son had opted out of the one-day series against West Indies that is scheduled to begin on November 29, but added that Yuvraj “is already preparing himself to play the one-day series in Australia.”
“As you can imagine, this period of illness, tests, and treatment was physically and emotionally a very hard time for Yuvraj and all of us. Now his entire focus is to regain his full fitness,” she said.
