Scott Hamilton has had plenty of heath issues to overcome in the past.
However, the Olympic figure Skater decided to put off treatment when he was diagnosed with a thirdĀ pituitary tumor in his brainĀ in 2016.
Hamilton, who had previously faced testicular cancer and two bouts of a brain tumor, declined further treatment for now, a decision he is at peace with.
āWhen they gave me the diagnosis, they said, itās back,ā the 65-year-old Olympian toldĀ PeopleĀ exclusively. āAnd so they brought in this guy, a really young, talented surgeon, and he said, āWe could do the surgery again. Itād be complicated, but weāve got really talented people here that we could bring in, and I know we could pull it off if thatās an option for you.'ā
Hamilton felt otherwise.
āAll I felt was just, donāt worry about this. Just go home and get strong,ā he says. āThey go, āWell, what do you want to do?ā And I said, āI think Iām going to go home and get strong.'ā
And so far, so good.
āItās been remarkable,ā he told People. āI went back to the scan three months later and they said, it hasnāt grown. I go back three months later and they go, it shrank 45%. I said to my surgeon, āCan you explain this?ā And he said, āGod.ā I went back in, and it shrunk 25% again.ā
The news, however, has not always been positive.
āIt had grown,ā he told People . āAnd then COVID hit and going into any kind of hospital situation was almost impossible. So in my spirit, in my inner being, I realized, Iām totally at peace with not even looking at it again unless I become symptomatic,ā he says.
But Hamilton noted he is not ruling out treatment all together.
āThe ace I have up my sleeve is that now there is a targeted radiation therapy that will shrink the tumor,ā he said. āAnd in that, I can avoid a lot of other things like surgery and chemo.
āSo I donāt know, Iām mostly trying to be in the moment and taking all the information and do the right thing when the time comes.ā
Hamilton won four consecutive U.S. championships, four consecutive World Championships, and a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics