Tony Gwynn reveals cancer, treatments

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Hall of Fame outfielder and former San Diego Padres star Tony Gwynn says he is battling cancer in his salivary gland.

Gwynn, 50, told the San Diego Union-Tribune Saturday that he will soon begin radiation treatments for parotid cancer.

"I'm going to be aggressive and not slow moving in treating this," Gwynn told the newspaper, adding, "The doctors have told me they feel they caught the cancer early and there was not much of it there."

Gwynn said the cancer was discovered when doctors performed a third round of surgery on his parotid gland.

"I had surgery for a parotid tumor in 1997 and again three years ago and both those times there was no cancer," Gwynn told the Union-Tribune. "But this time they found a malignancy. They took out three lymph nodes and did all the tests and the results showed cancer in the parotid."

Gwynn, a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee who collected 3,141 hits and posted a .338 batting average in 20 seasons with the Padres, said he will return as baseball coach of San Diego State.