Edward Aschoff, the former ESPN college football reporter who passed away on his 34th birthday, had an aggressive form of cancer at the time of his death, his fiancée, Katy Berteau, revealed in a statement on social media shared on Aschoff’s Twitter account.
It was originally reported that Aschoff died from a battle with pneumonia, but it has since been revealed that he had stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in his lungs.
Aschoff’s family was not aware of the cancer prior to his death.
While Aschoff was battling pneumonia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a rare condition known as hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) can form. HLH attacks the immune system and damages tissues and organs.
“After his passing, the hospital received the final results from his lung biopsy. Unbeknownst to us, Edward had stage 4, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in his lungs. This is an aggressive type of cancer that is usually undetectable until it is very advanced,” Berteau wrote. “Both pneumonia and non-Hodgkins lymphoma can trigger HLH in the body and that is seemingly what happened with Edward. All of this combined is what led to his very rapid decline those last few days, and ultimately his passing.
“I hope this information helps people in dealing with this tragedy. It has helped me knowing that his passing was inevitable, and I’m at least grateful he didn’t have to go through the painful treatment and drawn out process of battling the disease. He wouldn’t have wanted to go out like that. His ass was too vain.”
In lieu of flowers, Aschoff’s family is asking that donations be made to a scholarship fund that is being set up at the University of Florida’s School of Journalism and Communications. Information on how to donate to the fund can be seen in the tweet below.
(9/9) Donations to the Edward Aschoff Memorial Fund at UF’s College of Journalism and Communications can be made out to the “U.F. Foundation”, sent to P.O. Box 14425, Gainesville, FL 32604, Attn: Gift Processing. Please note "Edward Aschoff Memorial Fund" in the memo area. pic.twitter.com/7AC7xcKz3b
— Edward Aschoff (@AschoffESPN) January 16, 2020
Our deepest condolences go out to Aschoff’s family and friends during this incredibly difficult time.