ORLANDO, Fla. — Tony Medina has spent his life around the game of basketball. From his playing days at DeSales University in Pennsylvania to spending the last 25 years coaching the game, it’s something he looks forward to every day.

What You Need To Know

At 51 years old, Tony Medina was diagnosed with neck cancer in April 2025

Tony battled through six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy and is now cancer free

He returned to the sidelines at The Geneva School this fall, doing what he loves

Earlier this year, sports became a distant thought. In February, Tony noticed a lump in his neck. He knew something was wrong. Doctors thought it was just an infection.

“And then in April, I went back, and they detected that it possibly would be. There’s a cancerous tumor behind your tonsil,” Tony said.

At 51 years old, Tony Medina was diagnosed with neck cancer.

“When you hear cancer, the first thing you think is, how long do I have left? Do I have to write my son a letter to have to write my wife a letter? How does this really play into God’s purpose or God’s plan in my life,” Tony said.

“It was a shock because nobody expected to hear that. And so the first thing for me was to just keep it together and not lose it,” Tony’s wife, Teresa, said.

The doctors told Tony on day one that he would beat the cancer. The next six weeks were still a battle of radiation and chemotherapy.

“It was hard to see him fight through that. It was hard to see the change in his personality. To see those changes were hard,” Teresa Medina said.

“I had a lot of dark days. But even in the dark days, I knew how to try to find victory because mentally and physically, my body wore down. But the biggest thing is trying to find victories,” Tony said.

His mission was to make it back on the sidelines this season, doing what he loves and coaching his son one final season.

As he made his return to the sidelines, The Geneva School community all wore shirts to support the Medina family. There were also two special people in the crowd, the two nurses that helped Tony through some of his darkest days.

“Looking up and seeing everybody with these shirts on says a lot. Just because you realize there’s so many people in your corner,” Tony said.

Tony is now cancer-free and back to doing what he loves, coaching the game of basketball.