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Stricken Mets great Gary Carter has received ominous news from doctors at Duke University, who say that they are "90% certain" that tumors on his brain are malignant, according to a Carter family website.
Carter, 57, was first diagnosed with four small brain tumors May 21 after experiencing headaches and forgetfulness in recent weeks.
"It was very hard for all of us to hear, as we have been hoping and praying that the tumors would be benign," one of Carter's daughters wrote on the website. "Lots of tears have been shed in the hospital room today, and we are all a bit scared of the unknown."
Carter won't know the official diagnosis until early or the middle of next week.
A family source confirmed the grim news Friday evening.
At the time of the initial diagnosis, Carter said, "My wife, Sandy, and our children and family thank you for our thoughts and prayers. We ask us to please respect our privacy as we learn more about my medical condition."
According to the website, the plan is for Carter to begin chemotherapy and radiation as soon as the final test results are known.
"I'm shocked. Devastated," said former Mets teammate and SNY analyst Ron Darling when told of the news on Friday evening. "It makes you feel your own mortality."
Added Keith Hernandez, Darling's SNY booth mate and Carter's teammate during 1980s with the Mets: "Wow. My prayers are with (Gary) and Sandy and his family."
Carter, an 11-time All-Star catcher, was inducted to Cooperstown in 2003. He had a lifetime batting average of .262 with 324 home runs and 1,225 RBI in a 19-year career with the Expos, Mets, Giants and Dodgers.
He was considered one of the final pieces to the Mets' '86 World Series championship team, making four All-Star teams in five seasons after he was acquired from Montreal for four players before the 1985 season.
He finished third in NL MVP voting in '86, with 24 homers and 105 RBI, before adding two homers and nine RBI in the Mets' seven-game thriller over Boston in the Fall Classic.
Carter has been managing at Palm Beach Atlantic College this year near his Florida home after his goal to become a big-league manager went unfulfilled.
"I talked to Kid last summer up at the Hall of Fame, and I'm so sad to hear this," said ex-battery mate Dwight Gooden upon hearing the news of Carter's initial diagnosis last week. "He always has been a good friend and very supportive of me, and he was such a huge part of what we did (with the Mets) in the '80s. I wish him and his family nothing but the best, and just hope and pray that it all works out for him."
Carter and his wife of 36 years, Sandy, have three children, Christy, Kimmy and D.J.
According to the family's website, doctors have said that even if malignant, the tumors could be treatable.
"(The doctor) wants us all to team up and help Dad through the battle ahead," Carter's daughter wrote. "He said that this IS treatable and they will attack it with the same kind of vigor that Dad displayed on the baseball diamond!"
Source: New York Daily News