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In 1998, Mike Lowell broke into the major leagues with the New York Yankees. That off-season, the Yankees shipped him to the Florida Marlins.

It was in Florida, the state Lowell grew up in and went to college in, that Lowell discovered he had testicular cancer.

Lowell's cancer was first detected on February 19, 1999.

By May 29, he was in the Marlins lineup after missing all of spring training and nearly two months of the season.

As a Marlins fan, I remember a cancer scare in the middle of the Marlins' World Series run in 2003.

"The first time when I had the cancer, my wife and I had been married four months. We had no responsibilities. But the second time, we had my daughter...now you are leaving someone behind," Lowell told the Boston Globe.

The 2003 scare turned out to be a misdiagnosis, and Lowell was on the field when the Marlins defeated the Yankees for the World Series.

In the 11 years since Lowell defeated cancer, he has won three World Series titles and been named to the All-Star team four times.