Cancer-free Lester is home again

For Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester, a circle will be completed tonight at Safeco Field, one that has been marked by heartache and distress, but ultimately, triumph and joy.

It was late August 2006, during a Red Sox series in Seattle, that Lester, after complaining of a sore back, was examined by his uncle, a Tacoma physician, and diagnosed with lymphoma. Lester's thriving baseball career suddenly ceased to be important as he prepared to battle for his life.

And now, less than a year later, Lester returns to his home area, deemed cancer-free by his doctors and once again a vital member of Boston's starting rotation.

"We don't say it definitively for five years, but the chances are excellent he's permanently cured right now," said Dr. Oliver Press, a researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research center and an attending physician at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance who oversaw Lester's treatment last winter.

When the 23-year-old left-hander pitches against the Mariners tonight, his third start of the season, his parents will be in the stands, soaking it up. So will many other friends and family members from Puyallup, where Lester grew up and attended Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma.

"Almost a year later, to see him back out there — this is going be a nice trip," said Lester's father, John, a sergeant in the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. "I'm always nervous to see my son pitch, but I really don't care how he does now."

That was certainly the family's attitude last week, when John and Kathie Lester were in the stands at Cleveland's Jacobs Field as Jon culminated the feel-good story of the year in baseball.

Making his first start in the majors after being brought along slowly and painstakingly in the minors by the Red Sox, Lester worked six strong innings to beat the Indians. He followed with another solid effort against Tampa Bay, but the bullpen couldn't protect his lead.

With the recent trade of Kason Gabbard to Texas in the Eric Gagne deal, Lester is now ensconced in the rotation of the first-place Red Sox. But again, that's secondary.

"I tell people that anything above and beyond the fact he is healthy is icing on the cake," John Lester said. "Like the game in Cleveland; yeah, I want him to do well, but just to see him out there pitching is good enough for me."

Lester's comeback has warmed hearts throughout baseball, from coast to coast. Shortly after he was diagnosed, the hated New York Yankees sent a bouquet of flowers. Last week in Cleveland, several Indians players approached the Lesters in the players' lounge to extend good wishes.

Meanwhile, Lester's Red Sox teammates, who in his short time in the majors had come to appreciate his work ethic and humility, were admittedly rooting with their hearts.

"He's the epitome of what a good teammate is," said Gabe Kapler, who played for the Red Sox last year and is in his first season managing their Class A Greenville (S.C.) Drive farm club, where Lester began his rehab assignment with four starts early this season. "He cares about the people around him, and that translates to people caring about him and pulling hard for him."

After leaving Greenville to continue his rehab assignment at AAA Pawtucket, Lester asked for the shoe size of everyone on the Drive team. A few weeks later, a new pair of tennis shoes arrived for each player — young kids making meager salaries and eternally grateful for the gesture.

That didn't surprise Mark Potoshnik, who runs the Northwest Baseball Academy in Lynnwood and has worked with Lester since he was 15.

"He's such a top-notch kid," Potoshnik said. "He is everything you want a young man to be, in terms of how he carries himself, and where he places his priorities and values."

Nor did it surprise Ben Cherington, the Red Sox vice president of player personnel who has been closely involved in Lester's development since the pitcher was Boston's second-round draft pick in 2002.

Cherington, general-manager Theo Epstein and the rest of the Red Sox front office had steadfastly refused to include Lester in any deals over the years, including the Josh Beckett trade with the Florida Marlins, who were pushing hard for Lester to be part of the package.

When the cancer diagnosis came last August, they were stunned along with everyone else.

"I remember talking to Theo in my office and saying, here's a guy who from the day he was signed did absolutely what he was supposed to do, on and off the field," Cherington said. "I never remember one time he failed in any single area. It's just so hard to see that sort of thing happen to a guy like that.

"On the other hand, as we were talking, we pointed out the flip side — no one else could handle it like Jon can. There was some peace of mind knowing Jon was the one going through it."

Press calls Lester "the perfect patient in terms of being compliant, respectful. He did everything we asked him to do. Fortunately, he responded beautifully to chemotherapy, and he's been in complete remission for quite a while."

Press said that Lester's form of leukemia — anaplastic large-cell lymphoma — is highly treatable, particularly for someone as young and fit as he was.

"We were very optimistic from the beginning," he said. "So far, everything has gone as we hoped it would. It's exciting to see him back in the big leagues."

Press said Lester went into complete remission after his fourth chemo cycle but underwent two more cycles just to be sure. Lester is currently being tested every three months, with his in-season care being handled by Dr. Arnie Friedman, an oncologist at the Dana-Farber cancer institute in Boston. Press will resume Lester's care in Seattle when the season ends.

Those harrowing days in the wake of Lester's diagnosis, and the travail of his treatment, are now long in the distance. After tonight's game at Safeco Field, one more highly charged emotional moment awaits — Lester's first start at Fenway Park.

"This story isn't about how everyone felt when they were told he had cancer," Kaplan said. "More so, it's about how good everyone feels now that it's come out the other end."

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com.