MLB

‘90 percent’ chance Mets great Carter’s tumors are malignant, docs say

Gary Carter’s battle with brain tumors took a serious turn for the worse today, when doctors told the ex-Met great that there was a “90 percent” chance they were malignant.

“It is with a heavy, yet hopeful heart that I share with you the news that [the doctor] shared with our family . . . that he is 90 percent certain that the tumors are malignant,” one of Carter’s daughters wrote on a website yesterday. “We won’t know the official diagnosis until early-to-mid next week once the lab results come back.”

But the family is holding out hope that Carter, 57, will be able to recover after undergoing tests at Duke Medical Center on Thursday and yesterday.

“[The doctor] said that this IS treatable and they will attack it with the same kind of vigor that Dad displayed on the baseball diamond!” the daughter wrote. “The plan is to begin chemotherapy and radiation as soon as we know the results of the lab testing.”

Dr. Allan H. Friedman and Dr. Henry S. Friedman, the co-deputy directors of The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke released a statement, adding: “Biopsies were performed [yesterday] from a tumor located in Mr. Carter’s brain. The preliminary results are that his tumor appears to be malignant.”

They also said Carter “is in excellent spirits and good physical condition. He is resting comfortably, surrounded by his family. We hope that his friends and fans will continue to pray for Mr. Carter and his family during this time.”

According to the family’s message on the site, the doctors told the family they didn’t believe the tumors had been growing very long, which is “encouraging.”

Now, the family hopes the tumors are low-grade and asked fans to “pray BOLDLY that the 10 percent chance that Dr. Friedman is incorrect becomes 100 percent!!!”

His former Mets’ teammates are rallying around the catcher.

“I actually spoke to Gary [on Thursday],” Howard Johnson said last night. “He was in real good spirits. . . . He seemed like he was at peace about everything.”

But Johnson said he was confident Carter would continue to battle.

“Gary’s a fighter, man. He’s going to give it all he’s got,” Johnson said. “It’s just unbelievable that it happened so quickly. That’s the hardest thing to get a handle on, that it happened so fast.”

“This is so tough,” said Mookie Wilson, who has been in touch with the Carter family through a mutual friend. “Gary has always been one of the happiest guys in the world, that’s why we called him the Kid. I saw him a couple of months ago, he was in good health, good spirits, then to find this out, it’s shocking. . . . We know that Gary is a competitor and that gives him an edge.”

Keith Hernandez said he was “very saddened. Obviously this is terrible news. I was hoping they were benign, obviously, like everybody else.”

Last week, when four tumors were first found after an MRI exam was done in Florida after Carter complained of forgetfulness and headaches, Carter released this statement: “My wife, Sandy, and our children and family thank you for our thoughts and prayers. We ask us to please respect our privacy as we learn more about my medical condition.”

Now, the fight is tougher.

Carter — who has been managing at Palm Beach Atlantic College this year near his home — made 11 All-Star teams and hit .262 with 324 homers and 1,225 RBIs in 19 seasons in the majors and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003. He is best known for helping to lead the Mets to the 1986 World Series title.

— Additional reporting
by
Mark Hale and Kevin Kernan