Barstool Sports Founder Dave Portnoy Shares Cancer Diagnosis, but Says It 'Wasn't the Serious Kind'

“I’ve got a scar going all the way down my neck,” Portnoy said

Dave Portnoy is seen at Burger Bash during the South Beach Wine and Food Festival on February 24, 2023 in Miami Beach, Florida.
Dave Portnoy, here in 2023, posted online that he had cancer. Photo:

 Alexander Tamargo/Getty

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy shared that he’d been diagnosed with cancer in a post on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.

“I did have cancer.  I beat it,” Portnoy, 47, wrote, sharing a video where he discusses his diagnosis with Barstool personality Rico Bosco.

“It wasn’t the serious kind thank god.  I can’t tell if Bosco thinks cancer is funny or not.”

In the video, he gestures to a bandage on his neck, saying, “Cancer,” to Bosco, who has his arm in a sling.

“I didn’t know,” says Bosco, who co-hosts Barstool Pick Em and Barstool Bench Mob.

“Because I don’t make a big show of this,” Portnoy replies, gesturing to Bosco’s sling.

“I’ve got a scar going all the way down my neck. I look like Frankenstein,” Portnoy says, adding, "You’ve got that,” referring to Bosco’s arm, “ I’ve got this.”

“We’ve all got our cross to bear,” Bosco replies.

According to a report in The New York Post, Portnoy had skin cancer, although he didn’t clarify what kind in his video — where he shares that his cancer diagnosis kept him from attending a Boston Celtics game.

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“You gonna be alright?” Bosco asks.

“Yeah, I’m gonna make it,” Portnoy replies, taking a sip of his beer.

Dave Portnoy with bandage on his neck
Dave Portnoy shows off the bandage on his neck from what he says was cancer.

Dave Portnoy/X

Portnoy, who’s known for his "One Bite Pizza Reviews" series, also shared that he’d had treatment for cancer during an episode of The Dozen Trivia. 

“A lot of pressure. This is all that matters. We’ve been waiting for all season,” Portnoy, who was wearing a bandage on his neck, said of the trivia matchup. “I have cancer, by the way. No big deal.”

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Although he didn’t specify, basal cell carcinoma is the most common kind of skin cancer, according to Verywell Health, accounting for 80% of non-melanoma skin cancer cases.

Melanoma, of course, is the most “dangerous type of skin cancer,” Verywell Health says, due to how quickly it spreads.

Basal cell carcinoma is largely caused by “skin damage from UV light (sunlight, tanning beds),” the outlet says, adding that when it comes to treatment, “surgical removal of the cancer is usually recommended.”

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