John Walton is cancer-free and poised to call Washington Capitals games this fall

It wasn’t even a month ago that John Walton announced he was diagnosed with cancer.

The lead radio play-by-play voice for the Washington Capitals shared with his followers that he was battling a colon cancer diagnosis. After undergoing a colonoscopy in July, which revealed the cancer, Walton underwent surgery to remove 8-10 inches of his colon and a mass that was formed there.

He shared a positive prognosis at the time and an even better one on Monday, Sept. 23

“I’m happy to say that after the operation, that I am cancer-free,” Walton said, per Washington, D.C.’s WTOP News. “I don’t need any chemotherapy, which is something I was pretty sure that I was going to need.”

Walton has been the Capitals’ radio voice since 2011. He was previously the play-by-play announcer for the Hershey Bears, an affiliate of the Capitals. Before that, he served as the public address announcer for MLB’s Cincinnati Reds for seven seasons.

A new health challenge arose as Walton was preparing to return to the NHL season.

Less than a day after his colon cancer surgery, Walton found himself back in the emergency room with a severe leg condition.

Diagnosed with compartment syndrome, Walton experienced intense pain and swelling due to restricted blood flow to his leg muscles. Over seven days, Walton underwent four surgeries to address the compartment syndrome and prevent further complications.

Despite these setbacks, Walton’s determination prevailed.

He already returned to the Capitals’ broadcast booth during the preseason and is expected to be ready for the 2024-25 NHL season.

“There are sometimes complications you don’t expect, and I didn’t get dealt a very good hand on that one,” Walton said. “But if you were going to hand me a complication versus a clean pathology report, I think I’d take that 100 times out of 100.”

[WTOP]