Emotional Terry Bradshaw opens up on cancer battle as calls mount for Steelers honor

Terry Bradshaw has opened up on beating cancer twice, and how his faith helped him through an incredibly tough period of his life.

The Pittsburgh Steelers icon, who won the Super Bowl four times, went public with his bladder and skin cancer diagnosis in 2022 during an emotional episode of Fox NFL Sunday.

Getty

He reassured viewers that he was cancer free after battling the disease, and four years on, has no intention of stepping away from the desk at 78.

Ahead of his return to the show for Week 1 of the 2026 season, Bradshaw has been discussing his health, and how both his wife and his faith helped him stay strong.

Terry Bradshaw opens up on beating cancer twice

Tammy Bradshaw worked as a radiation therapist for 10 years before marrying the Hall of Famer, and she was the one who informed him of his cancer.

“The doctor calls me to tell me what it is, and then I’m shook because I was a radiation therapist for 10 years,” Tammy said back in 2022.

NFL Weekly Newsletter - SIGN UP!

talkSPORT is your home for NFL in the UK as we launch our biggest year of coverage yet!

2026 promises to be an epic year for NFL on talkSPORT – and we want you to join us for the ride.

MORE INFO & SIGN-UP HERE!

This season will be our biggest ever with live commentary of 90+ games, including behind-the-scenes access to international games and all three London fixtures, plus bumper coverage of Super Bowl 61 at SoFi Stadium.

Exclusive interviews, hard-hitting opinion, latest front-office drama and top breaking news – all delivered straight to your inbox each week.

“I knew where this could go. I knew what the outcomes could be. And it did scare me the second time with that diagnosis.”

Terry, though, was never frightened about one potential outcome.

“Death did not frighten me,” he told the No Time But Now Official podcast earlier this week.

“It did not in any way frighten me. Now, that’s easy to say because I haven’t been told, ‘You’re dying. Well, you’re going to die.'”

Bradshaw them opened up about his mindset about death, when host William Shatner suggested that everybody’s time eventually comes.

“I know I’m going to die,” the NFL icon responded.

“And when that time comes, will I handle that with grace and strength and an understanding that God loves me, and I’m going to go to heaven and see my family again?

“Yes, that’s going to be my strength. I’ve asked so many crazy questions here lately, kind of death (related) things like I’m not going to be here long.

“And I’m just talking all this and I’m wondering where’s that coming from. And Tammy goes, ‘Stop that. Stop it. You got to stop talking like that.’

“She’s right. I’ve got to.”

While Bradshaw has shifted his mindset recently, he admitted that he has become ‘bolder’ after beating cancer.

Steelers urged to hand Terry Bradshaw ultimate honor

The legendary quarterback will soon be back in his spot on Fox NFL Sunday, analysing the biggest games of the week.

Getty

And ahead of the new season, the Steelers have been urged to hand Bradshaw the ultimate honor, and retire his jersey.

“Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and four-time Super Bowl champion Terry Bradshaw celebrated his 78th birthday on Wednesday,” Steelers Now writer Chris Ward said in a recent piece, suggesting the honor was long overdue.

“As Steel City Star on X creatively put it, ‘The NFL MVP of ‘78….turns 78.’

“Bradshaw is the only Steelers player in franchise history to win NFL MVP. He is also a two-time Super Bowl MVP. No one who has donned the black and gold has done that, either.

Getty

“Bradshaw threw a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter in each of his four Super Bowl wins. He’s also a part of one of the greatest plays in NFL history, the Immaculate Reception.

“Yet somehow, the Steelers still haven’t officially retired Bradshaw’s No. 12 jersey. How can that be?”

Ward’s piece went on to urge Pittsburgh to retire the numbers of Jack Lambert, Jack Ham and Mel Blount, alongside Bradshaw’s.

“Give these legends the respect and honor they deserve,” he concluded.

“The numbers of the players mentioned have not been used in decades. Why not just officially retire them?”

Ward, of course, is far from the only person to suggest Bradshaw should be honored by the Steelers. In 2026, the team could finally decide to make it happen.