Former Orioles starting pitcher Jason Johnson, who is attempting to make the New York Yankees' Opening Day roster, was diagnosed with choroidal melanoma of the right retina on Feb. 9.
According to this story in Newsday, Johnson had gone to buy new contact lenses in Tampa, and the eye doctor noticed an abnormality. A retina specialist provided the diagnosis and sent him to the Wills Eye Institute in Philadelphia for treatment.
I'm not a health expert by any means, but it looks like this condition is extremely rare. According to this medical Web site, it affects about six people for every 1 million. The good news is that Johnson said there's a 98 percent recovery rate for people with his stage of retinal cancer, according to the Newsday article.
Johnson pitched for the Orioles in five seasons from 1999 to 2003. He was originally acquired from Tampa Bay in a trade for Danny Clyburn and a minor leaguer in March 1999. Johnson won 10 games in two different seasons (2001 and 2003) for the Orioles, but he also had two bad years (1-10 in 2000 and 5-14 in 2002).
Cancer isn't Johnson's only health issue. Some Orioles fans might recall that he deals with type 1 diabetes on a regular basis. Beginning in the 2004 season, Johnson received permission from Major League Baseball to wear an insulin pump while pitching.
The 35-year-old right-hander still hopes to play for the Yankees after making a recovery. For now, he's limited in his baseball activities, and Johnson's main focus is to get healthy.