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Craig Sager says doctor gave him diagnosis of 3-6 months to live

TNT reporter Craig Sager’s leukemia is no longer in remission, he told Bernard Goldberg during an interview for HBO’s Real Sports.
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TNT reporter Craig Sager’s leukemia is no longer in remission, he told Bernard Goldberg during an interview for HBO’s Real Sports.

In an interview that will air Tuesday, Sager revealed that doctors told him last month the cancer had returned, and gave him “3–6 months” diagnosis to live.

“I’ve already had two stem cell transplants. Very rarely does somebody have a third,” Sager told HBO. “So I have to maintain my strength, so I can go through this.”

“...I’m not going to be that 3–6 months. I‘m going to be that five years. I’m going to make medical history. ... I’m fighting this thing to the end. I have too much to do.”

Sager, 64, was first diagnosed with leukemia in April 2014 and the disease returned in March 2015, forcing him to take the rest of the season off. After a bone marrow transplant in July, Sager returned to TNT for the first game of the 2015–16 season. 

“I haven’t won the battle,” Sager said. “It’s not over yet. But I haven’t lost it either.”