ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay Rays minor league pitcher David Hess says he is starting chemotherapy to treat a cancerous tumor in his chest.

Hess tweeted Wednesday that he went to an emergency room about a week ago after experiencing chest tightness and shortness of breath.

“After some scans, blood work, and time at the hospital we learned that I had a cancerous germ cell tumor sitting in the center (of) my chest pressing majorly against my heart and lungs,” he wrote. “ Today we got the final diagnosis and treatment plan that has chemo starting up on Monday to shrink and hopefully eradicate the tumor entirely.”

The 28-year-old has pitched in the majors for Baltimore, Miami and Tampa Bay, going 6-22 in parts of four seasons. He finished this year with Triple-A Durham, where he was 6-2 with a 3.57 ERA.

Hess said those around him have showered “love, prayers, and support in ways that have been so amazing I don’t think we can even put into words how grateful my family and I are.

“As we get ready to go into this treatment time, we are confident this will all be gone from my body and I’ll be back doing what I love on a baseball field soon and be healthy while doing it,” he added. “This is just the beginning of a great story.”

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