Report: Ex-GM Millen may need heart transplant
Former Lions general manager and NFL linebacker Matt Millen reportedly has a rare disease that forces him to undergo weekly chemotherapy and may require a heart transplant.
The Morning Call in Allentown, Pa., reported that Millen, 60, was diagnosed last summer with amyloidosis, a rare disease that often goes undiagnosed because of symptoms resembling many normal ailments. However, the four-time Super Bowl champion linebacker has been told by doctors that his heart is working at merely 30 percent capacity.
To treat the incurable disease, Millen has undergone chemotherapy treatment on nearly every Monday for the past eight months. Doctors hope to slow the production of amyloid, an unusual protein in bone marrow that is accumulating in his heart and causes shortness of breath and chest pain.
Millen told the Morning Call that he had experienced symptoms for six-toseven years before being diagnosed. He began experi- encing discomfort during exercise and over time normal walks would tire him despite seemingly maintaining his normal fitness level. For years he saw doctors and took tests to no avail. Finally, a visit to the Mayo Clinic revealed the cause.
“I know what you have,” Millen said the doctor told him, “and you’re not going to like it.”
At first, Millen wanted to put off treatment until after finishing the football season.
“You’ll be dead by the end of football season,” a Mayo Clinic doctor told him.
Yet Millen, who played 12 seasons with the Raiders, 49ers and Redskins, continues his normal routines involving woodworking and Bible study. He even plans to continue broadcasting.
“I’ve always lived this way,” Millen said. “You take what you get. I look over my life, and it’s been a storybook. I have an awesome family, a phenomenal wife, and you can’t ask for more.
“So you’re not supposed to take the good with the bad? When a bump comes up in the road, you deal with it. It’s ridiculous to feel sorry for yourself. I’m thankful for what I have, and I’ll take what I get.”