Foster Moreau Opens Up About Hodgkin's Lymphoma Journey

New Saints tight end Foster Moreau opened up recently with ESPN's Adam Schefter about his Hodgkin's Lymphoma journey and where he's at in the process.

Author:
John Hendrix
Updated:
May 16, 2023 9:19 AM EDT
Original:
May 16, 2023

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New Orleans Saints

Foster Moreau recently spoke with ESPN's Adam Schefter on his podcast about beating out a Stage 2 Hodgkin's Lymphoma diagnosis that Saints team doctor Dr. John Amoss uncovered during a routine physical. Moreau admitted that things have been a 'rollercoaster', going through the ringer of getting the diagnosis, fully understanding it, and then moving forward from there.

Moreau revealed that he had a rare cell type of Hodgkin's Lymphoma called NLPHL, or Nodular Lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin's Lymphoma, referred to as 'Alphabet Soup'. Moreau said that it shows up in 3-5 percent in all Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and is slow-growing and non-aggressive, but is still cancer. What that meant for Moreau is that he didn't have to undergo chemotherapy or radiation, but took medicine that targeted the specific type of cancer he has.

Moreau said that the treatment is not as poignant as chemo or radiation, and might have to do this again down the line. As of last Tuesday, he finished up his last Rituximab treatment for a 'long period of time'.

Moreau said, "My schedule was looking like this: I finished Tuesday. I signed Wednesday, and Thursday I was out running routes with my quarterback and my receivers and my running backs at the Saints practice facility at 7:30 in the morning."

Moreau detailed that the Rituximab treatment did not affect his quality of life, with the hardest part being the mental side. He's getting back into football shape, and should be ready for OTAs.

Schefter asked Moreau if any part of his decision to sign with the Saints was because of the uncovering of the diagnosis, or the fact that he is originally from the area. There were a few of teams, including the Raiders, Dolphins, and Packers, who were interested in Moreau.

"For me, a big part of it playing into my decision was the Saints and Mickey Loomis called my agent the day after I got my diagnosis. That Saturday was the physical. That Sunday, Mickey calls my agent, Joe Linta. He says, 'Look, we still value Foster as a person, and we value him even more as a player. We would absolutely love to sign him to whatever deal we can, whatever you guys feel comfortable., and whenever he's ready to play, we're excited to have him regardless. We're going to keep him here, we're going to keep him at home.' And for me, that just spoke volumes."

"I've been with the Saints since Aaron Brooks," Moreau said on his fandom. Now, that fandom translates to playing for the hometown team, with a familiar face throwing passes to him in Derek Carr, who made an impact him from the start of his NFL journey.

"I'm great friends with Derek and I'm lucky to call him to friend, but even more a mentor. Just coming into the league, I remember going through the rookie meetings that you have to do, the player engagement meetings. I remember writing it down. I still have it in my first NFL offseason notepad. Derek told all of us, 'You only get this chance once, please make it count, and don't make it count for anyone other than you.' It was so powerful for me. I remember where he was sitting. I remember how he said it. Just a special guy and a special leader. I'll always be -- I don't know if indebted is the right word -- but I'll have a massive amount of reverence for especially the man, but obviously the player."

Moreau will be one of the many players we'll be looking for at Saints OTAs next week, and will be one of the easiest players to root for this season.