Tulsa - NOTE: This story was posted Thursday night, before the news of Wayman's death.

Tulsa's Wayman Tisdale is an Oklahoma sports legend. He's also a patient who has been battling cancer for two years. The cancer led to the amputation of his right leg above the knee last year. It was hoped that would be the end of the cancer. But Wayman's fight continues.

NewsChannel 8 Sports Director has been covering Wayman's battle and his career -- from high school, to college to the pros and now a musical career. He sat down with Wayman recently to get an update.

"I feel so fortunate to have known Wayman Tisdale for so many years," Chris says. "I covered him in high school... Booker T. Washington star, Class of '82. Then, on to the University of Oklahoma and a three-time First Team All-American. From there to the Olympics in 1984... Gold medalist. To the NBA and his great career there. And then for Wayman, a whole second career that I really wasn't familiar with -- music. And, he really loves his music."

"I have to admit, though, about a month ago, April 16th, when Wayman received the Legacy Award, it meant so much to him at the Greenwood Cultural Center and the group there, I was stunned when I saw him," Chris adds. "It had been a while, but he had lost 30 pounds, he was in a wheelchair. And, all of a sudden, it struck me that maybe behind the smile there's a lot more going on than I had known."

"I had Acute Esophagitis and I couldn't swallow for a while," Wayman explains. "And, I mean, I'm thinking one week, two weeks... No, it went a while. Maybe five weeks. And, that was the problem. I couldn't get any nourishment. I couldn't get any food down. And, I couldn't get up. I couldn't eat on a regular basis and that's what happened."

Chris asked Wayman's wife, Regina, how tough it has been.

"Tough. I mean. Very very hard for me, because I've always had this big, strong man. And to see something to put him on his back was very hard. We ended up in the emergency room and they did this thing, dilation where they opened it up, but in the process of that and then him finally getting it back open, he had lost quite a bit of weight. And, I mean it happened pretty rapidly."

Wayman was emotional at that April 16th Legacy Award ceremony, explaining how his family has helped him through this tough fight.

"And to my wife... she's been with me through thick and thin. And I know God gave me the right woman..." Wayman said. "Also, to my kids. My son. Come here boy. He had to grow up overnight. And become the man of the house overnight. And, there's not one day that goes by before he goes to bed that he says 'Dad, do you need anything?' And, I love you man."

"In between chemo he's been doing things and I've told him, let's just grab everything, stay home, get well and just get yourself together and then let's go out," Regina said. "But, he decided, he said Regina my music is healing to me. and, when I'm on the stage doing what I'm supposed to do, I feel better.

"Music to me, man, it's what's gotten me through," says Wayman. "It gets me through. I go up, I don't stand up, I don't dance around like I used to, but I can still tell you how I feel through my hands."

"Anytime you hear cancer, of course that's scary," says Regina. "You know? But, once you get past it, you talk to the doctors, they tell you what to look at and what can happen, and what the percentages are, then you decide in your head how you're going to take it or how you're going to deal with it."

"I have no fear, man. I've... I was always taught as a kid, God did not give me the spirit of fear. He gave me the spirit of joy and conquer and that I can make it through anything. And, I'm looking forward to walking my daughter down the aisle, playing with my grandbaby. I look at it like it's a bump in the road, man. And, everybody's going to have a bump in the road. It's just how you handle it."

"This whole thing is differnet for me. Because since the eighth or ninth grade, since I fell in love with ball and music and everything. I don't know how to stop."

"One thing that always makes me feel great is when I call Wayman and I get his cell phone message, it always ends with 'and God bless you'," Chris says. "Well, everyone out there, keep Wayman Tisdale in your prayers, too. And, Wayman, God bless you."

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