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Merril Hoge with Dr. Stanley Marks Everyone knows that Chuck Noll - he of four Super Bowl wins - was a great coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But for Merril Hoge, an outstanding running back for the team between 1987 and 1993 who's now a sports analyst with ESPN, Noll provided guidelines for living life as well as playing football. Hoge relied on what he learned from Noll when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (cancer of the lymphoid tissue) in 2003 by Dr. Stanley Marks, director of clinical services at UPMC Cancer Centers. With that deeply disturbing news, Hoge made the decision to become what Noll called an "uncommon football player" - one who does more than the play demands. "I was not going to lie around in a recliner and feel bad for myself," says Hoge. "I was going to challenge myself to be uncommon."
Hoge learned of his condition by paying attention to his body. "Our bodies talk to us every single day and tell us we feel great - or we don't feel great," he says. "Just respond to that." He did just that when he took his aching back to Steeler orthopedist Dr. James Bradley. After an MRI showed "massive enlarged lymph nodes," Bradley sent Hoge to Marks at UPMC's Hillman Cancer Center. Hoge, who now lives in Fort Thomas, Ky., with his wife, Toni, and children, Kori and Beau, was in shock when he learned he had cancer at 38, says Marks. Sadly, Hoge's form of cancer has become more common: As Marks explains, there's "an epidemic of lymphoma in the United States - 60,000 new cases a year." Marks arranged Hoge's treatment with chemotherapy, steroids and the drug Rituxan, a monoclonal antibody that's "very active against lymphoma," he notes. Rituxan is one of a new group of drugs, explains Marks, that is "targeted to kill the cancer cells and not the normal cells." Hoge made it clear "he was not going to allow this to interfere with his lifestyle," says Marks. And he didn't. He continued to work at ESPN and play in a couple of basketball leagues. He went straight from chemotherapy to the gym. "I was not told I couldn't," Hoge notes. "I was told I wouldn't feel like it." He did go bald, though, and he experienced one day when he was so sick he couldn't even get out of bed. "In the middle of my therapy, I did the NFL draft," he says, describing his coverage for ESPN during the hectic week when teams vie for the newest college recruits. Says Hoge, "The drug [Rituxan] was really the only bright spot I had in all that treatment I had to endure. It gave me hope." The cost of Hoge's dose ran as high as $5,000 a month, most of which was covered by insurance. During his six months of therapy, he increased his napping. And, Hoge says, he developed cravings like those of a pregnant woman. Once out on a Harley ride, he stopped for a Wendy's hamburger. "I don't eat fast food," he qualifies. "The last time I was in McDonald's was when I was in high school." Cancer-free for four years now, Hoge admits, "There are still days when it's very heavy on your head. Everybody has some fear of cancer, but once you live it, that fear level is even higher. I've been through some physically and mentally challenging things in my life playing with the NFL. I thought nothing could top that. But that was kid stuff [compared with] what I went through. This was not a win or loss for me. This was life or death." He's changed some things in his life. The 6-foot-1 athlete weighs in at 210 pounds, two pounds under his playing weight, but his body fat is now between 4 percent and 5 percent, a reduction from 10 percent to 11 percent. He eats carefully and not in excess. He also incorporates rest into his training and conditioning. "I am leaner. I am stronger. I am in better shape than I have ever been in my life. And that includes playing in the National Football League," Hoge boasts. Marks has good things to say about his patient: "Merril is a remarkable guy. He became a very strong national advocate for patients with lymphoma. He has gone around the country giving educational talks for patients with lymphoma." (Hoge has become a spokesman for the Living with Lymphoma program of Genentech, a California-based pharmaceutical company.) Not surprisingly, Hoge sends patients to Marks. "You've got to go to Pittsburgh," he tells them, Marks says. "You've got to go to the Hillman Cancer Center. He's extremely proud that he got treated here." Adds Marks, "He's so happy he has been in remission, been successfully treated, that he tries to get to as many people as he can to give them courage and inspiration." Hoge has kind words for Marks, too. "I thank the good lord above for people like him," adding that Marks "helped save a husband, a dad, a brother, a son - all in one patient."Hoge continues as board chairman of the Caring Foundation, a program for grieving children with centers in Pittsburgh, Erie and Harrisburg. He and former Steelers teammate Carnell Lake became involved with this organization when they were playing for the black-and-gold. At ESPN, he works as an analyst on "State Farm's NFL Matchup," "NFL Live," "Football Friday," "NFL Draft" and "Arena Football." Says Hoge: "I've got a full plate." And he's happy to have it. Ann Curran is a contributing editor and writer for PITTSBURGH magazine. She is a former nurses' aide at UPMC's Eye and Ear Institute, where she observed eye surgery and nose reconstructions, totally fascinated. Ann is the author of Placement Test, a book of poetry. Hair and makeup for Kurt Angle and Merril Hoge by Patty Bell; hair and makeup for Catherine Herridge and son Peter by Susie Popovich.
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