Jamie Samuelsen of the Jamie & Stoney Show announced Monday morning that he is fighting colon cancer. After keeping his diagnosis private for the first 19 months, he wanted his radio family and listeners to know.
“Each morning since my diagnosis, I got up, turned on the radio mic and got to talk sports," Jamie said. "I needed the escape from cancer, just like so many of our listeners who face hardships, grief and illness, too -- they turned to us in the morning for some levity in this crazy world. So I wanted to continue to have fun and not let cancer get in the way of doing what I loved.
"Connecting with listeners, laughing, teasing Stoney, all of it — it helped me be normal, while continuing to fight this disease."
A 25-year veteran of Detroit Sports Radio, Jamie has been with 97.1 The Ticket since 2012. The Jamie & Stoney Show was launched in 2016. You know him for his love of the San Francisco Giants, Northwestern Football, and most of all, his family.
Due to a recent infection, Jamie was forced to take a few days off this month. He's clear about this: he won't stop fighting.
"It's a battle. It goes on," he said. "I don't want to make it sound like this is any sort of goodbye, because it's not."
In the meantime, Jamie wants his listeners to do one thing for him -- get a colonoscopy.
“More people under the age of 50 are being diagnosed with colon cancer than ever before and colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths," Jamie said. "Make sure you talk with your doctor — and get that colonoscopy."