Boeser’s dad battling cancer again

VANCOUVER — Life has rarely been easy for Brock Boeser.

Tuesday was yet another reminder of how challenging life away from the rink is for the Vancouver Canucks star. He shared news on his Instagram that his father is battling cancer again. He linked to a post where his mom, Laurie, writes that his dad, Duke, shared the difficult news. Duke was previously diagnosed with lung cancer in 2017.

According to her post, the lung cancer reccurred six weeks ago and has metastasized to his liver and his bones. On Monday, a blood clot in a lung triggered heart failure.

He was taken to hospital and is now in intensive care.

“They are cooling his body to let his heart and brain heal,” Laurie Boeser wrote. “Still not out of the woods for the next 48 hours, considered critical.”

The Boesers live in Burnsville, Minnesota, south of Minneapolis.

Health challenges have been part of the Boeser family’s life for nearly a decade now. When Brock was in Grade 7, Duke was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He was just 49.

Two years after the Parkinson’s diagnosis, Duke broke his pelvis in three places, suffered a lacerated spleen, as well as a further brain injury when someone blasted through a red light and T-boned the vehicle he was in.

On top of challenging rehabilitation for his pelvis and spleen injuries, the brain injury exacerbated his Parkinson’s.

Five years ago, one of Boeser’s high school friends was killed when the truck he and three others was riding in rolled over. The other three, all friends of Boeser’s, were hurt. Ty Alyea, the teen who died, wore No. 6 for their high school hockey team. So did Duke when he was young. Boeser has worn the number in tribute to the pair ever since.

But the hits kept coming: a fall at home led to a shoulder replacement for Duke. And just weeks after Boeser made his NHL debut at the end of the 2016-17 season, Duke was diagnosed with lung cancer.

This summer, Boeser said in April, would be all about getting himself as right as possible before the 2019-20 season. Invariably, his dad’s fight has served as inspiration for Boeser. Daunting as it may be, Boeser will present this as yet another challenge to overcome.