Chris Duncan returns after brain tumor

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- St. Louis Cardinals' radio analyst Chris Duncan is back on the air and says he is optimistic about his future after removal of most of a tumor from his brain.

Duncan, 31, a former Cardinals outfielder whose afternoon talk show on WXOS-FM is the top-rated sports program in St. Louis, returned to work after being away for nearly a month. He had surgery Oct. 10 to remove a tumor in the part of his brain that controls speech, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Thursday.

He said his symptoms began with "a metal taste in my mouth" in late summer. Then more complications developed.

"My right arm, my neck would go numb for 30 or 40 seconds. I thought it was from neck surgery I had a couple of years ago from playing baseball," he said.

He contacted the Cardinals' physician, Dr. John Ellena, who recommended an MRI, and was treated at Duke University's medical facility by Dr. Allan H. Friedman, who treated a brain tumor of Duncan's mother Jeanine last year, he said.

"They took out 95 percent of the tumor," Duncan says of his hospital experience, adding the remainder of the tumor will be attacked, in a St. Louis hospital, with radiation and chemotherapy.

"It seems like a dream. I couldn't believe it happened, but I feel good. I'm as optimistic as ever," he said.