D'Backs President & CEO DERRICK HALL has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and he said yesterday that he plans to use the disease as an impetus to aggressively drive awareness for early cancer screening. "I have a platform, and I look at this not as a burden, but as an opportunity," said the 42-year-old Hall. "I have a real chance to save lives, and I'm not going to let that slip by." It is not yet certain whether Hall will work with Stand Up 2 Cancer, as MLB has for the past several years, or pursue a different promotional avenue. Hall's diagnosis arrived through routine blood screening for cholesterol, which subsequently showed elevated levels of prostate-specific antigens. Hall then had a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis and is slated to have surgery sometime in mid-November. A full recovery is expected. The diagnosis continues a whirlwind season for Hall and the club that has included the opening of the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick spring training facility, hosting the All-Star Game, and a likely NL West title. "This year has been so incredibly fulfilling that I refuse to let this get me off track," he said. D'Backs Managing Partner KEN KENDRICK successfully beat a similar bout with prostate cancer and has been closely advising Hall (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal). In Phoenix, Sarah McLellan notes rather than being "a distraction for a team readying itself for the postseason, the news of Hall's health has become a rallying point for the Diamondbacks." D'Backs P J.J. PUTZ Sunday "presented Hall with the game ball" after beating the Padres. Hall said to Putz, "When I beat this, I'll give it back to you" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 9/21).
