Broncos' Cutler says his diabetes 'very treatable'
Team says it's prepared to help monitor quarterback's disease
By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published May 1, 2008 at 9:01 p.m.
Updated May 2, 2008 at 11:05 a.m.
Photo by Ken Papaleo © The Rocky
Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler speaks to the media Friday about his Type I diabetes.
Photo by Ken Papaleo © The Rocky
Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler speaks to the media Friday about his Type I diabetes.
Photo by Darin McGregor © The Rocky
Broncos starting quarterback Jay Cutler has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Other famous athletes have played with the disease, among them baseball players Jackie Robinson and Ron Santo and tennis greats Arthur Ashe and Billie Jean King. And here's a few NFL players to have played with diabetes: cornerback Mike Echols, coach Joe Gibbs, lineman Jay Leeuwenburg and QB Wade Wilson.
The Broncos are prepared to take all of the measures they need to monitor quarterback Jay Cutler's health, but they are confident Cutler can manage Type 1 diabetes during the 25-year-old's playing career.
Cutler was diagnosed in recent weeks with the disease, and the team's medical staff is ready to deal with a starting quarterback who is insulin dependent, team sources said Thursday night.
Cutler also confirmed the diagnosis in an interview with CBS 4 News on Thursday night, saying it was discovered in the blood test players take when they return for the team's offseason conditioning program.
Cutler, who is wearing an insulin pump on his stomach, said he began to lose weight in October - he lost 8 to 10 pounds that month, he said - and by the end of the season was down to 202, or 32 pounds below the weight he started the season at.
"(It) definitely affected my game . . . but now we know, now we can deal with it," Cutler said in the interview, saying when he returned to the team's complex to begin offseason workouts he thought "something's not right, I'm losing all this weight, I have no strength, I can't run very much, I can't lift at all. Luckily, we figured out what it was."
Type 1 diabetes means Cutler's body, like others who deal with the disease, doesn't produce insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy.
When insulin is absent, the blood sugar level increases.
High blood sugar levels can lead to short- and long- term problems, including kidney disease and blindness, so diabetics require daily insulin injections.
Cutler will need to take daily doses of insulin and closely monitor his diet.
Former Broncos defensive end Mike Sinclair played with the disease during his career. Former Cowboys and Vikings quarterback Wade Wilson is believed to be the only other starting quarterback in the league's recent history publicly to have acknowledged having the disease.
Former Titans safety Tony George and former Titans cornerback Mike Echols, who played as teammates for the team briefly in 2002, were Type 1 diabetics and at the time were believed, according to the American Diabetes Association, to be the first NFL teammates dealing with the disease.
When a player's blood sugar was too low, the Titans trainers were looking for shakiness, dizziness, profuse sweating and hunger.
When a player's blood sugar was too high, they were looking for symptoms that included fatigue, nausea, blurry vision or dry mouth.
Insulin-dependent diabetes can be found in people of all ages, though it develops most often in children and young adults.
"I'm not the first person to get it, I'm not the last person to get it . . . it's very treatable," Cutler said.
Former University of Colorado offensive lineman Jay Leeuwenburg, Olympic swimmer Gary Hall Jr., golfer Michelle McGann, former Raiders coach Art Shell, boxer James "Buster" Douglas and golfer Scott Verplank are some of those in athletics who have dealt with the disease.
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May 1, 2008
9:24 p.m.
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boblarryj writes:
You're a great guy and a great QB Jay Cutler. With the right care, this won't hold your life or your career back at all. Have a great off-season and a GREAT regular season! Just keep doing what you do to lead this team.
May 1, 2008
11:51 p.m.
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BMat writes:
Great, now Jay and Brandon Marshall can stay out of McDonald's together.
May 2, 2008
12:52 a.m.
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Dynamicdave writes:
BMat, you are a true and blue, idiot. Please, please, just shut the hell up. How, can 2 human beings, spawn such a jackass, as yourself? You have no soul. You obviously have no intelligence. Jerk.
May 2, 2008
2:46 a.m.
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avshockey5 writes:
This situation is way beyond the sport of football pure and simple. All the best to Jay and hopefully he can continue to successfully play the sport he loves with this unfortunate condition.
May 2, 2008
7:06 a.m.
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MiamiMike writes:
BMAT,
I have to say you really are a complete a@#hole. This is one time you might want to act like a human being not a JackAss. This is a disease where people actually die if not treated. Yes Cutler is lucky to be able to afford the proper medical treatment needed but may people can't. To many people suffer from this disease in our country and it's sad someone like you has to make a stupid thoughtless comment. I hope you and no one in your family ever suffer from something like this.
Most people would wish Cutler the best and hope he gets the right treatment. He will be fine and he will have a great season and many more. Lets not use this site to show the lack of character you have. Try and be a decent human being just once.
May 2, 2008
7:13 a.m.
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kmeissner writes:
Good luck, Jay! We are supporting you all the way!
May 2, 2008
8 a.m.
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NeilT writes:
I have Ankylosing Spondylitis.
My 5-year old son has Angelman Syndrome.
My 8-year old daughter has Type 1 Diabetes.
That was funny, Bmat. I bet Cutler would get a chuckle out of that.
Humor can go a long way. Some of the other posters on this thread need to stop being so sensitive and lighten up...a lot.
May 2, 2008
8:28 a.m.
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Squatch writes:
Take care of yourself Jay.
May 2, 2008
9:33 a.m.
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06cutler06 writes:
You know Earl, its front page because the public as a whole knows and cares about Jay. My wife's mother died 4 years ago from breast cancer, but I doubt you or anyone else in Denver really needed or wanted to know about it. Jay Cutler is a nice man and I think most Bronco fans care. Besides, Jay can now bring attention to this very treatable, but serious disease.
May 2, 2008
9:46 a.m.
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Spencer writes:
Maybe there shouldn't even be a front page Earl. (Seriously, all the best to your wife)
May 2, 2008
9:51 a.m.
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Vector049 writes:
Does this mean he'll have to get a haircut?
May 2, 2008
10:17 a.m.
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TheDenverB writes:
"so does anyone care about the thousands of others, many of whom are kids, that came down with type 1 this past month? sorry for jay but do we really need it as page one news? I dont think so."
did you think that, maybe, through this high-profile story more people will become aware of this story?
that, and he IS the quarterback for a multimillion-dollar, pride-of-the-city franchise. so yes, to be cold, the general public do care more about him than the thousands of others. this, unlike people they have no association with, brings it home to them.
no offense to your wife, but she IS just another of the thousands of others. special to you... but no more special to the city than the thousands of other dying. that's not saying this paper, and every other paper around the country for that matter, don't do profiles on "regular" cancer and diabetes survivors all the time. in fact, when they do, it is usually in a HUGE spread.
so to act like the 'normal' people dont get the same sympathy or don't get profiled is absurd.
May 2, 2008
10:20 a.m.
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Shaupeen writes:
This is way above a sport. I'm continually impressed with Cutler as a person--I certainly wouldn't want to hold a press conference about myself after just learning I had something like diabetes, or any medical condition! And, if nothing else, people are learning about diabetes. I did, from reading this story. And it also made me pause, once again, and reflect on how lucky people are with good health, because it can change in the blink of an eye.
May 2, 2008
11:11 a.m.
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Squatch writes:
HEy Earl its called awareness. Its a story because he didnt know what was wrong with him just like thousands of other people who might have the same symptoms he went to the doctor which in turn might get somebody else to the doctor before its too late.
Sorry to hear about your wife but Breast Cancer was also bought out and people were made aware by many famous people that were diagnosed and told people about it.
May 2, 2008
11:20 a.m.
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mytwosense writes:
Earl - yeah, unfortunately we live in a society where it takes celebrities to bring awareness to certain causes, but let's also give credit to the unknown survivors who become active in raising awareness, too. Glad your wife survived breast cancer, I'm sure having your support was a significant factor in that.
Best of luck to Jay Cutler. It's scary when such a formidable ailment attacks a young person, but it sounds like he's got the positive outlook and physical health to manage it well.
May 2, 2008
11:39 a.m.
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jamesdenver writes:
Why the hell is breast cancer being involved in a discussion about type 1 diabetes? Jesus Christ they're two totally different things.
I have type 1 diabetes, take shots and wear an insulin pump that tells me my blood sugar every five minutes. While annoying at times type 1 diabetes is easily managable and you can live a long life.
Its far different than the more serious breast cancer. Oh and this is front page news because he's a sports celebrity in a sports jock populated town. Duh.
james http://www.futuregringo.com
May 2, 2008
4:08 p.m.
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BMat writes:
I just re-read my commments from yesterday. Even funnier today!