Major League Baseball

Carter's brain tumors likely inoperable

Published May. 29, 2011 10:55 a.m. ET

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Doctors treating Mets great Gary Carter for brain cancer told his family that they are "99 percent sure" the Hall of Famer has a Grade 4 Glioblastoma and that it was likely inoperable, the New York Post reported Sunday.

The results were not set to be confirmed until Tuesday, and the family was hopeful for more positive news.

But tests showed the cancer "is like a snake of tumors that are connected across the back of the brain. The biggest tumor is on the left side of the brain," wrote one of Carter's daughters, Kimmy Bloemers, Saturday night on a family website.

Though the tumors may be inoperable, Dr. Henry Friedman of the Duke Medical Center told the family the medical team will be "attacking [the disease] and doing all we can to shrink these tumors. He explained that we are not fighting to prolong Dad's life, instead, we are fighting to cure him completely."

Carter recently completed his second season as baseball coach at Palm Beach Atlantic University, where Bloemers is the softball coach.

The former Met announced on May 21 that an MRI exam revealed four small tumors on his brain. He had biopsies done on a single tumor at Duke on Friday, when doctors said they were "90 percent" sure it was malignant.

The doctors remained confident that Carter is well-suited to fight the disease "because he is so young, strong and healthy," wrote Bloemers. "This will not be an easy road at all, nor is this a simple battle but WE WILL FIGHT."

The Mets showed a video tribute of Carter during last night's 5-2 loss to the Phillies at Citi Field, which received a standing ovation from the crowd.

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