UFC veteran Mike Swick on Wednesday announced he’s cancer-free after a one-year battle with the disease.
On Instagram, Swick thanked his supporters with a post of his incredible physical transformation, the result of Stage 4 lymphoblastic lymphoma cancer.
Swick, 43, said a positive mindset helped him overcome the disease, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma where immature white blood cells are found in the lymph nodes and the thymus gland. The five-year survival rate for the cancer is said to be between 60 and 70 percent according to various estimates.
The Ultimate Fighter 1 vet and owner of AKA Thailand in Phuket noted he isn’t completely out of the woods, but he added he “will be much more prepared and ready and can at least always say no matter what, I kicked it’s ass!”
Here is Swick’s full post.
As you can see by the photo, I didn’t wait around for the test results… Very positive I was gonna win this battle somehow. It can come back and I can always get it later in life but I will be much more prepared and ready and can at least always say no matter what, I kicked it’s ass!
As you can see from my timeline the last year, it didn’t slow me down. It was tough but keeping a positive mindset and not allowing it to change my life anymore than it had to was important and kept my stress down and life moving forward.
Stage 4 of the most aggressive and deadly form of Lymphoma Leukemia was not an easy thing to hear so young and healthy but I been a fighter since I was a kid and accepted the challenge and knew this post would come one day. Literally from the day I took that first selfie, I couldn’t wait to post this.
I hope it’s inspiring to anyone facing the same situation or similar and if you have any questions comment below or DM me. Many have been fighting this with me and many will be successful and live full happy lives after! Anything I can do to help will just make me more happy!
Thanks for all the support! It’s been amazing! Love you all!
Swick retired from MMA in 2015 but continued to coach before starting AKA Thailand. He went 10-5 in the octagon, competing at welterweight and middleweight, with wins over one-time middleweight title challenger David Loiseau, Joe Riggs, Josh Burkman and Ben Saunders.
