ROME (AP) -- Michael Phelps had every reason to be satisfied after the Beijing Olympics. Yet he kept insisting there was more to do in the pool.Swimmer Eric Shanteau found out he had testicular cancer a week before qualifying for the Olympic team, but he postponed treatment so he could compete in Beijing. He's currently cancer-free and has returned to competitive swimming. Click through to see other athletes who have fought cancer.
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Australian soccer star Craig Moore undergoes surgery to battle testicular cancer, but he is expected to make a successful recovery.
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Golf legend Seve Ballesteros is in intensive care after doctors removed a cancerous tumor from his brain.
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Lance Armstrong survived his bout with testicular cancer and went on to win seven consecutive Tour de France titles. Armstrong is now planning to make a comeback and chase his eighth crown.
Peter Dejong, AP
Former NBA player Wayman Tisdale, seen here in 2006, had part of his leg amputated because of bone cancer. "This may sound drastic, but I have put it in God's hands and now have peace, knowing that this is the best way to put this disease in check," he said.
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Jim Calhoun underwent 33 radiation sessions over the summer to battle skin cancer, and now the UConn hoops coach expects to be recovered in time for the new season.
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Maarten van der Weijden, who was given only a slim chance of survival after being diagnosed with leukemia in 2001, swims past the favorites to win a gold medal in one of the most grueling events of the Olympics.
Robert F Bukaty, AP
Bruce Snyder, who has coached football at Arizona State, California and Utah State, admitted in July that he has cancer through a statement released by Arizona State's sports information office.
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Bobby Murcer, who was one of the most popular figures in Yankees history, died of brain cancer on July 12. He had been diagnosed with the disease on Christmas Eve of 2006.
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Less than two months after his surgery for thyroid cancer, Diamondbacks pitcher Doug Davis made a triumphant return to the mound on May 23, giving up only one run in seven innings.
John Bazemore, AP
Eric Shanteau's decision to delay his cancer treatment didn't pay off in a medal, but it didn't seem to matter to him.
"As far as my Olympic experience goes, it is everything that I wanted it to be," said Shanteau. "As far as my swimming goes, I accomplished what I came here to do -- get a best time -- and I did that. It's difficult that I don't get to go into the final tomorrow and have a shot at a medal. But I came here to do a best time, and I did it. I have no regrets whatsoever."
Last week Eric Shanteau qualified for the U.S. Olympic swimming team in the 200-meter breaststroke. Today he revealed to the Associated Press what only he, his doctors and his family knew: He had been diagnosed a week earlier with testicular cancer."If I didn't make the team, the decision would have been easy: Go home and have the surgery," Shanteau said. "I made the team, so I had a hard decision. But, by no means am I being stupid about this. ...Shanteau's cancer has not spread, and he expects to have surgery as soon as he returns from Beijing.
"I was sort of like, 'This isn't real. There's no way this is happening to me right now,"' Shanteau said. "You're trying to get ready for the Olympics and you just get this huge bomb dropped on you."
We're covering the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials all week.
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