TOP OF THE MORNIN'

Sutcliffe makes a pitch for cancer screening

“We’re at 78 now,” Sutcliffe said from his home in Lee’s Summit. “That’s 78 and counting.”

Seventy-eight is the number of people that Sutcliffe knows have gone to get a colonoscopy since he told them of his fight with colon cancer.

“I want to see that number keep going up,” he said. “It’s all about awareness and early detection. And you know what? Of those 78 people, all the results have come back clean, thank God.

“But I’ve also heard people say, ‘Oh, I’d rather not know if I got cancer.’ That’s so ridiculous. If you catch it early enough, you can beat it.”

Sutcliffe, as you may know, had a colonoscopy in March when his cancer was detected in its early stages. He has since had radiation and chemotherapy, and then invasive surgery on June 16. A few days after the surgery, he got pathology results back.

“It was a clean report,” Sutcliffe said. “I can’t tell you what a relief that was.”

A few days after that, he turned 52.

“Now, that was worth celebrating,” he said. “You never feel completely out of the woods, but I feel strong right now. I feel lucky because of all the other people I’ve seen who have things worse.

“I’ve seen people go in for radiation or chemo treatment and have to go right back to work. How do they do that? Those are people much stronger than I am.”

Sutcliffe has another surgery coming up to “reconnect the plumbing,” as he puts it. But he hopes the worst is over.

“When I got the news back in March,” he said, “I went through a period where I thought, ‘Hey, if this is it, that’s fine. I’ve had a great run. I know where I’m going because my faith is so strong.’

“But I know now I have so much more to do.”

Sutcliffe said he also has stayed strong through the support of friends and family.

“Little things stick with you,” he said. “I still keep this text message I got from Derek Jeter that just says ‘Stay positive.’ That is my approach. It has to be.”

Guillen ranks No. 2

Some Royals fans might wonder about José Guillen’s effort at times or about the things he says.

But his major-league contemporaries don’t doubt his ability.

In a poll in the Sporting News, major-league players voted Guillen as having the second-best outfield arm in the league, tied with Vladimir Guerrero.

Ichiro Suzuki was voted best outfield arm.

Oh, and dirtiest player in the league? A.J. Pierzynski of the White Sox.

Big day

A special Top of the Mornin’ salute to loyal reader and sports fan Hank Webster, who is celebrating a birthday today.

To reach Jeffrey Flanagan, call 816-234-4492 and leave a message or send e-mail to jflanagan@kcstar.com