Voice of the Cleveland Browns Jim Donovan speaks during a press conference in Public Square to announce Cleveland as the host of the 2021 NFL draft. May 23, 2019; Cleveland, OH, USA; Voice of the Cleveland Browns Jim Donovan speaks during a press conference in Public Square to announce Cleveland as the host of the 2021 NFL draft. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
NFLRadioBy Sean Keeley on

Jim Donovan, who has been the radio voice of the Cleveland Browns since 1999 and is a longtime local sports anchor, announced Wednesday that he had had a relapse of leukemia.

“There’s a story to the new look and hairstyle that I’m sporting here tonight,” Donovan said Wednesday during a WKYC segment. “It was about a year and a half ago that I noticed that something was amiss with my health. And if you’ve known me and if you’ve followed me through the years here at Channel 3 and with the Cleveland Browns, you know that I’ve had a long battle with leukemia to the point where I had a bone marrow transplant about 11 and a half years ago. Well, my concerns were confirmed, and by that I mean it was told to me that I had had a relapse of leukemia, the disease had come back.”

Since then, the 66-year-old says he has been receiving various forms of chemotherapy.

“For the most part, they worked pretty well, but things change, and so we’re going to have to go with a different treatment plan — a more aggressive treatment plan, which has already started,” Donovan said.

The longtime voice of the Browns added that he will try his best to be part of the Cleveland sports scene while he receives more treatment, but will likely have to miss some time.

“This is going to be kind of a long and winding road through this treatment plan, because it is going to be aggressive. The goal is: gotta get better, gotta get healthy, gotta move on. I know the deal, I’ve done it before, and I plan to do it once again,” Donovan said. “Through all of this, I will be here at Channel 3 and on the radio as much as I can be, but there will be periods of time that I might not be with you, maybe for a day, maybe for longer.”

Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam offered their support to Donovan in a team statement.

“Our thoughts and the thoughts of the entire organization are with Jim and his family right now in this difficult time,” they said in a statement. “There is no better representative of the Cleveland Browns. He’s as tough as they come and proved as much in his previous battle. We’re all behind Jim and will do everything we can to support him. We look forward to him winning this fight, being around the team and continuing to call our games during the season.”

Donovan was initially diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 2000 and the recovery process lasted through 2011 when he received a bone-marrow transplant. Three months later he was able to rejoin the Browns’ radio booth.

As you might imagine, the well-wishes and thoughts poured in for Donovan after the announcement.

[Cleveland.com, WKYC.com]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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