Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard recently was diagnosed with testicular cancer and underwent surgery, he revealed in a letter to ISU fans on Wednesday.
Pollard, 56, wrote that he had a testicle surgically removed Nov. 23 and received the cancer diagnosis the following day. He first felt pain in his groin after a running workout four weeks ago.
He had more tests Monday that showed his cancer has not spread from its original site.
“We also discussed next options, which include doing nothing other than monitoring my blood work and performing CT scans every 3-6 months, undergoing chemotherapy, or beginning radiation treatments,” Pollard wrote in his letter. “We visit an oncologist this Friday to learn more about my treatment options.”
Pollard, who has served as Iowa State’s athletic director since 2005, is the longest-tenured AD in school history. The Oshkosh, Wisconsin, native, who was an All-American cross country runner at Wisconsin-Oshkosh, came to Iowa State after serving as an administrator at the University of Wisconsin.
In 2015, he suffered a heart attack and underwent triple-bypass surgery.
Pollard wrote that he had been debating whether to share his medical situation but also felt stressed by hiding it, especially after the surgery forced him to miss a speaking engagement.
“When I had open-heart surgery in 2015, it allowed me to encourage others battling similar heart issues,” Pollard wrote. “By sharing some details of my cancer diagnosis and treatment plan, I can emphasize the critical importance of early detection as it relates to cancer survival rates. … I feel blessed to know the cancer has not spread and am ready to follow what my medical team feels is the best course of treatment.
“As Coach [Matt] Campbell likes to say, ‘Trust the Process.’ That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”