Joe Paterno, age 84, is no stranger to being in the news. Last week Paterno lost his job at Penn State where he worked for more than 60 years because of a breathtaking scandal. This week Paterno is in the news again after being diagnosed with a treatable form of lung cancer. Neither Peterno nor his family, have released any further information regarding his health.
Lung cancer, which the U.S. National Library of Medicine describes as one of the deadliest forms of cancer (for both men and women), which kills more people each year than breast, colon, and prostate cancers combined.
Tragedy is no stranger for Paterno either. In 2006 he su
ffered a broken leg on the sideline, in 2008 he had hip replacement surgery, and in 2011 he was hospitalized after a collision with a player during a preseason practice.
Previously thought to be a legend, Paterno has had his tenure at Penn State permanently marred this past week as a litany of charges came forth againsted defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky for sexual abused against at least eight underage minors. Paterno was believed to have had full knowledge of at least two occasions in which Sandusky was engaging in criminal behavior (one including a 10 year old boy in a locker room shower). Sandusky was neither disciplined, nor reported to authorities. Paterno, athletic director Tim Curley, and university president Graham Spanier have all lost their jobs.
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