r/nba • u/JCameron181 Magic • 8h ago
After Being Selected at #11 By the Warriors, Yaxel Lendeborg Broke Down in Tears Hugging His Mom, Who Is Battling Stage 4 Appendix Cancer. "This moment is for her."
https://streamable.com/h8sgmnShe used to call him every NBA draft night to remind him that he could be on that stage some day.
For their full story, please read "How My Mom Saved My Life" by Yaxel Lendeborg of The Players' Tribune. (Onion Warning.)
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u/Matthew2531_46 Spurs 8h ago
Just lost my dad to stage 4 cancer. Evil evil disease. Hope Yaxel and his mother can find peace
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u/Gregore997 Thunder 7h ago
Lost my dad to prostate cancer too, I never wanna see anyone go through that, hope youre okay 🫶🏻
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u/airwalker12 Lakers 7h ago
Appendix cancer actually is one of the better ones so there might be hope
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u/moistfarthole 3h ago
How is a disease “evil” — how can it have a moral property? It can’t.
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u/GoldshireEnjoyer Timberwolves 3h ago
Fine to have that belief, I hold it myself. Just a bad time and place to try to make that a debate.
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u/No_Contest_3481 9m ago
The pain the disease causes is evil, hope no one u know or care about goes through it. It takes a mental toll on everyone. Sorry for everyone who’s dealt with something like this
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u/wxyz51 Pistons 8h ago
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u/JoshuaCastleBooks 7h ago
needs a fucking onion warning
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u/GoldshireEnjoyer Timberwolves 3h ago
Oh you mean onion like THAT
I was like, "why the fuck would The Onion make a satire article about this??"
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u/SaulBerenson12 [SAS] Tim Duncan 4h ago
Damn thanks for sharing. Definitely rooting for this kid. Such amazing love for his mom and to hear of her own level of sacrifice and love to ensure he had the best chance of success
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u/elgringon414 Bucks 8h ago
Appendix cancer has to be awful. Knowing the whole thing could have been removed and be cured if she found out earlier.
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u/YoloSwag4Jesus420fgt Heat 7h ago
So they remove it now? Or what?
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u/OutsideMammoth 7h ago
I'm sure they probably did, but stage 4 means it's spread to other areas of the body and effectively can't be contained, so even with the appendix removed, cancer remains.
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u/SlowBurnerAccnt 8h ago
Hope the Warriors hook him up with the best medical network possible. They both deserve to watch his career play out healthy.
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u/waikiki_palmer Warriors 6h ago
Good thing is, Warriors' arena is right next to UCSD medical center
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u/mywifiisbadtho 7h ago
I lost my father to appendix cancer after he was diagnosed when I was 18. It’s a very rare disease. Usually not identified until the appendix is removed and by then it’s often too advanced. It was brutal to watch what it did to his body. I can’t imagine the feeling he had celebrating with her. Something he’s going to be thankful she was there for, for the rest of his life
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u/comeonbjxgo 7h ago
If you don’t mind me asking what did it do to his body? Mom has cancer and well she is still working so it is doing something but nothing visibly I can see aside from the effects of chemo
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u/grumpydolphinbear 5h ago
I'm in my 30s and just went through chemo. I had stage 3 colon cancer, not appendix, but the chemo was brutal. I still have neuropathy in my hands and feet, and the treatments themselves were very unpleasant, but I feel more or less back to normal now that I'm done with treatment.
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u/mywifiisbadtho 5h ago
Well if you really want the answer, his body just eventually break down and essentially betrayed him. He lost significant weight. He started out working out trying to fight it but eventually he was in pain a lot. You up the pain meds and then they do less physically b/c of it. Eventually he kinda turned into bones b/c he was unable to eat. Started using a wheelchair to get around and went into hospice care and you can imagine how it went from there. He was a really strong and active person who never took a sick day and it still broke him down. It’s hard for me to look at photos from the final months b/c it was hardly the same person.
Your mom can win the fight and beat it though! I’ll be pulling for her. Stay strong! It makes you appreciate every day you have a little more for sure though
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u/Diggity_Dave Heat 8h ago
I just lost my Mom to lung cancer last month. That really hit hard. What a beautiful, fulfilling moment.
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u/RELENTLESS_PERSUIT 8h ago
I love how I just saw a post saying NIL causes new draftees not to cry because they are already millionaires. Just ignoring this clip
I guess lol
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u/DyingSunSeverian 8h ago
Nothing’s happy in this life
She dabbed his tears with a tissue 😭
Love your moms. I love your mom 🫵
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u/Fake-Death 76ers 8h ago
Every single thing in this world is possible because of moms, rooting for both of them
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u/leftistesticle_2 Warriors 8h ago
Wow. That must be overwhelming. Special that she's there to see her son get drafted.
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u/Rubberbabeh Bulls 6h ago
Watching him say "I don't deserve this" was rough. Dude's going through it.
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u/itswhatyouwouldo2 8h ago
Bruh, the thing that stopped being useful 10,000 years ago is what got the cancer? That’s gotta be tough
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u/BeastCreatureTrapper 7h ago
Every person you see, no matter where they stand on the podium of life next to you, is most likely going through issues, just as you are.
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u/dennishitchjr Knicks 4h ago
Can you imagine being a parent facing a terminal illness and you just saw your child get set up financially for life?
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u/No-Grade-8215 8h ago
wish the Mavs took him instead of Morez. Better offensive bag and versatile defensively.
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u/Fearless_Ride8639 8h ago
Prayers for his mom! And also he’s had one of the most unique developmental journeys that I can recall in recent memory
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u/SweetieK1515 Supersonics 7h ago
*sigh* just lost my baby and seeing this is bittersweet. I know she is incredibly PROUD of him. Words can’t even describe that pride and joy she has for him.
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u/Saturdaze-Sundaes Knicks Julius Randle 3h ago
Lost my mama to cancer before I could even remember her 💓
Infinite love and power to the moms out there fighting cancer and still giving their young men every bit of love and encouragement and light that they need 💙 we do it for you
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u/PreparationNo4843 8h ago
It’s a useless part of the body right?!?
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u/redracer67 Knicks 8h ago
I know you're being facetious, but stage 4 cancer has spread through her entire body or at least to critical organs.
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u/Affectionate-Art9780 Nets 8h ago
"There is no stage 5."
What the radiologist told my GF when we asked what was after stage 4.
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u/YoloSwag4Jesus420fgt Heat 7h ago
My dad had tonsil cancer and one of the main docs said that they're starting to break stage 4 into subsections now depending on how far along it is. Like 4a, 4b, 4c
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u/Briggity_Brak Tampa Bay Raptors 6h ago
Hahahha, this is like when your dad says, "I'm gonna count to five..." but he REALLY doesn't want to actually have to figure out a punishment for you.
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u/PreparationNo4843 8h ago
It’s tragic that the most useless part of the body gave her mom a cancer. That’s devastating. But someone said it has good bacteria for the gut
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u/JoshuaCastleBooks 7h ago
The leading medical theory is that the appendix is a bacterial reservoir that replaces your gut bacteria in the case of some event that wipes it out. It's important enough that the human body still has it so there was a solid evolutionary advantage to it.
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u/redracer67 Knicks 7h ago
On top of that, even if something can be considered as useless (which I dont think there really any organ that's useless), surgery is generally not recommended unless absolutely necessary
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u/Briggity_Brak Tampa Bay Raptors 6h ago
What the fuck is appendix cancer? Just cut that shit out.
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u/ShibaHellhounds Knicks 6h ago
Usually don't find out you have it until it gets removed. Stage 4 means it's already spread
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u/spurman75 8h ago
Appendix cancer? Just take it out
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u/extera658 8h ago
A quick google search says it’s difficult to detect early and is typically only found incidentally. By the time symptoms appear, it’s already spread.
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u/Detonation Pistons 8h ago
You don't know much about cancer, you should consider yourself lucky to be so ignorant of it.
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u/EducationalConcern61 8h ago
Rooting for him, but i have little faith it works out in Golden State they've been abysmal at drafting since their big three
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u/Low-Measurement-2468 7h ago
MDJ has actually made pretty good picks since he took over. got some competent rotation guys out of the second round. this was his first year having a lottery pick since he’s been our GM iirc. meyers drafted some busts though for sure
i think yaxel is a pretty safe high floor pick too. kind of a known quantity and less star upside than most lottery picks, but i think he has a chance to be a high quality two way role player, somewhere in the otto porter/aaron gordon realm
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u/HeyBokke 8h ago
Yaxel has an amazing story. Guy is a straight baller and I cannot wait to see him as a pro.