Dereck Lively’s Mother Passes

Sad news from Dallas as Lively loses his mother to cancer

You probably remember that when former Duke big man Dereck Lively put his name in the NBA Draft last spring, one of his main reasons, if not the only reason, was to take care of his mother, Cathy Drysdale, who had been battling cancer for some time.

That battle is now lost as Cathy has passed away.

Lively posted an eloquent message on Instagram about her passing, her courage and how much she meant to him:

derecklively My heart breaks saying goodbye to the most important person in the world to me, my best friend, my superhero, my biggest cheerleader and mom, Kathy Drysdale. There is no one in this world that can love you more than your mother. As strong and stubborn as she is I have watched her struggle, fight and survive cancer for the past 11 years and now her battle has ended surround by family, friends and her teammates. I truly can’t imagine my life without her but l know I have an angel in the stands always and forever cheering my one and yelling at me if I’m bullshitting.

My mom was a beautiful soul, loved by every person who crossed her path and by every team I have played for from Team Final to West Town to Duke to the Mavericks. Thank you to Dr. Hall and the incredible nurses and team at UT Southwestern Hospital, and to the Mavericks for their constant support without them I wouldn’t have had these final precious moments. I love u and will always miss u as well, just know I’ll be ok mom. Fly high

FXCK cancer

Our condolences to Dereck. Losing someone to cancer is an awful thing to have to experience and most of us have had to deal with it at one time or another. We have got to put a bullet in its head and the sooner the better.