Chris LeDoux has HCC

[Guest guest]

Country music star and former world champion bareback bronc rider LeDoux has cancelled three tour dates as he undergoes cancer treatment. The 56-year-old, who ranches near Kaycee, was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma earlier this month, according to Mark Sissel, his tour manager and guitar player.

The cancer, which commonly affects the bile ducts, may be related to the progressive liver disease, primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), for which LeDoux received a liver transplant in 2000.

Three winter tour dates, including an appearance at the National Finals Rodeo, have been cancelled to allow LeDoux an opportunity to receive treatment for the cancer, Sissel said. However, the manager added, LeDoux's prognosis is positive.

"He said it was very promising," Sissel said. "Any cancer is serious ... but we're all positive about it -- as positive as you can be and still be respectful and thoughtful."

Sissel declined to schedule an interview with LeDoux, who is reportedly resting at his Kaycee-area ranch and traveling to Casper for 12 weeks of outpatient radiation therapy. "I'm not having him do any interviews," Sissel said. "Just allow him that time."

LeDoux's form of cancer affects about 3,000 Americans each year, according to the e-Medicine.com Web site. While a cause for the disease is not known, research indicates that long-term inflammation, such as that caused by PSC, can lead to malignant growths, the Web site said. Radiation therapy has proven effective in increasing survival rates for those with the disease.

Born in Mississippi and raised in Texas, LeDoux attended high school in Cheyenne, where he won the state's bareback title three times and went on to become the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's world champion in bareback riding in 1976. LeDoux also began playing and recording country music as a teen and has sold more than 5 million albums to date. His most recent album, "20 Originals: The Early Years," was released in June.

Sissel said LeDoux is hoping to return to his normal ranching and touring schedule soon. "His intent is that he just had to get this done and move on," Sissel said. "He fully intends on taking these treatments and getting it done and getting back to business."

[Guest guest]

One quick technical note. HCC is not the same as CCC. We as PSC ers are not at great risk for HCC which mostly effects Hepatitis patients and others exposed to environmental hazards but rather for CCC. I wish it was HCC because that is much easier to treat and almost always has a better prognosis than CCC.