BUTLER INSIDER

Amid cancer fight, Smiths staying positive

Zak Keefer
zak.keefer@indystar.com

The fight continues for Andrew Smith.

The former Butler basketball player, recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, is in the midst of his cancer battle in his hometown of Zionsville, Ind.

In her latest blog, Smith's wife, Samantha, opens up on the trials the disease have presented the newly-married couple, from forcing them to abruptly leave Lithuania last fall -- where he was playing professionally -- to the daily struggles they now face in battling the cancer.

Writes Samantha in "Kicking Cancer with the Smiths":

"We are tired & feeling a smidge rundown. We have had long days and nights full of Clorox and clean ups. This road is so foreign and baffling that our expectations are all over the place & with that, disappointments are inevitable. There are many days we expect to be good and those typically turn out to be the worst. When will we learn? We have no control."

"We had such big dreams and hopes of invigorating escapades overseas, but we now realize that it will be years before we can claim victory over this disease and, well, we aren't sure we're sold on doing maintenance and treatments in a foreign country."

The Smiths, Samantha writes, will lean heavily on their faith.

Just last week, they received a visit from former Butler coach Brad Stevens.

"Just like with life, we have to let this run its course. Does this mean we plan to roll over and let this thing kick our butts? Absolutely not. Andrew is a fighter through and through. He is already leaps and bounds beyond where our doctor expected him to be. But we do have to remind ourselves daily that we can only pray and control our attitudes in the face of this; everything else is out of our hands."

Here is Samantha and Andrew Smith, pictured at Hinkle Fieldhouse, as his senior season finished last spring.