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Racing: John Andretti is done with chemotherapy

By Asher Fair

NEW YORK - MAY 25: Indy 500 driver John Andretti signs autographs at Macy's and IZOD's celebration of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500 at Macy's Herald Square on May 25, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK - MAY 25: Indy 500 driver John Andretti signs autographs at Macy's and IZOD's celebration of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500 at Macy's Herald Square on May 25, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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Former IndyCar and NASCAR driver John Andretti has revealed that he is done with chemotherapy after being diagnosed with earlier this year.

In April, former IndyCar and NASCAR driver John Andretti, 54, revealed to sportscaster Dave Calabro that he was fighting stage IV colon cancer and undergoing chemotherapy treatments for it. He expected to undergo surgery for it in June, which he did.

According to IndyStar, Andretti’s cancer had also spread to his liver, and there were concerns that it would also spread to his spleen and his gallbladder.

However, in June, he Tweeted that his spleen and gallbladder were clean, but he would still be undergoing more chemotherapy.

Now, Andretti has revealed to the world that he is DONE with chemotherapy!

The #CheckIt4Andretti campaign, which Andretti made reference to in his Tweet announcing that he is done with chemotherapy, came about as a result of Andretti’s colon cancer diagnosis. The idea behind it is to get people to go for a colonoscopy before it is too late since Andretti put off going for a colonoscopy and he ended up having to deal with colon cancer.

He reportedly created the campaign so that people could let him know on Twitter that they were getting their colons checked. The #CheckIt4Andretti slogan also appeared on the side of Andretti Autosport’s Honda-powered IndyCars this past IndyCar season as well.

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In his IndyCar career, Andretti drove in 83 races over the course of 13 seasons and won the 1991 Gold Coast IndyCar Grand Prix on the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit in Queensland, Australia. His career-high finish in the championship standings was 7th place, which he pulled off in the 1992 season.

Andretti also competed in 12 Indianapolis 500 races and finished in a career-high 5th place finish in the 1991 race. His most recent appearance in the race came almost six and a half years ago in May of 2011.

In his NASCAR Cup Series career, Andretti competed in 393 races over the course of 17 seasons and won twice. He won the summer Daytona race in the 1997 season and he won the Martinsville spring race in the 1999 season. His career-high finish in the championship standings was 11th place in the 1998 season.

Andretti also competed in 15 Daytona 500 races and finished in a career-high 13th place in the 2004 race. His most recent appearance in the race came over seven and a half years ago in February of 2010. That race is also his most recent NASCAR race overall.

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The news that John Andretti is officially done with chemotherapy is great to hear, and we hope that he and everybody else out there can stay healthy so that they don’t need to deal with what Andretti had to deal with. And as Andretti would tell you, make sure you don’t forget to #CheckIt4Andretti.