Texans safety Andre Hal's lymphoma in remission

Less than four months after announcing he had been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer that attacks the infection-fighting lymphatic system, Houston Texans safety Andre Hal and the team announced he’s in remission.

‘Physicians have declared his disease is presently in remission’

“It’s a lot bigger day than football,” coach Bill O’Brien said at the podium. “Andre Hal’s Hodgkin’s in is remission.”

Just as O’Brien was beginning his news conference, the Texans’ posted a statement on Twitter from team physician Dr. James Muntz:

“Andre Hal has been undergoing treatments for his Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Andre has made dramatic improvements and his treating physicians have declared his disease is presently in remission,” it read. “Andre will continue to be monitored while he advances through his protocols.”

“Dre never wavered in his belief that he would beat it and he has,” O’Brien said.

Blurry vision led to diagnosis

Hal spoke after O’Brien, and said he was experiencing blurry vision during spring OTA practices, which led to testing. An MRI uncovered lymphoma in his armpit and stomach.

He’s been on the reserve/non-football illness list since his diagnosis, but Hal never stopped working out, and even decided on his treatment plan based on his desire to play this season.

“I didn’t want to do chemo because I didn’t want to miss this year; I wanted to play this year,” he said. “I knew in my heart that I wanted to come back and play, so I didn’t want to do chemo. So I did, they call it a less harsh drug. So I did Rituxan by IV. I did that once a week for a month, and the cancer went away.”

Hal also needed five weeks of high-dose vitamin C infusions after the Rituxan treatments.

“He never wavered in his faith and his spirit,” Texans trainer Geoff Kaplan said. “He did everything inside and outside the box. This is the best-case scenario. He’s had a remarkable response.”

Waiting for green light

Hal is the second Houston player in recent years to battle cancer. Offensive lineman David Quessenberry was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in June 2014, a few months after O’Brien was named head coach.

Quessenberry underwent treatment for two years, but worked his way back and made his regular-season NFL debut at the end of last season. He is now on the Titans’ practice squad.

Hal, a 2014 seventh-round pick out of Vanderbilt who played in 61 games with 38 starts in his first four seasons, including starting all 16 games last year, is now waiting for the green light to return to practice.

“I’m waiting on the trainers and the doctors to tell me when they’re going to clear me or not,” he said. “I’ve been working out the whole time; I never stopped working out. I was obsessed. I wanted to get back on the field.

“That obsession made me do all the things I had to do. I did acupuncture. I had a long talk with Tiffany Smith [the wife of Texans’ vice president Rick Smith, who has also battled cancer], she introduced me to different people so I could learn the natural way to do it. I wanted to keep my body, want to keep my strength, so she told me a lot of ways to do that too.

“And I had faith, man. I had faith in God and faith in myself that I was going to beat this.”

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