James Conner went on the Ellen DeGeneres Show expecting just to talk about the Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosis that derailed his football career as a star running back at the University of Pittsburgh, but ended up meeting one of the people who inspired him to beat it.
Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry, who overcame Hodgkin's lymphoma himself, made a surprise appearance on the show to meet Conner, whom he had previously encouraged by phone, in person.
At about the 5:10 mark of the clip below, Conner learns he's not the only Hodgkin's lymphoma survivor in the building:
Berry called Conner soon after the Pitt star told his teammates of his condition to impart some encouragement.
"We had like a 30-minute conversation and he just gave me the whole rundown of what to expect, because that was before any treatments," Conner said of his initial conversation with Berry.
Berry's 2014 season was cut short due to his diagnosis, but he recovered and returned to the field last season to make 61 tackles and 10 pass breakups for the playoff-qualifying Chiefs. Berry was named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year for 2015. Similarly, Conner missed all but one game for Pitt last season, and hopes to return to the field this fall.
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