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Pirates Pitcher Jeff Locke On A Battle Already Won

PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) - Once again, lefthander Jeff Locke finds himself in a battle for a spot in the Pirates' rotation. But, this time, he is battling from a much different perspective.

As important as it is for Locke's career - this is not the biggest battle in the Locke family. His mother is fighting ovarian cancer.

"I found out she had it literally three minutes before I was making a start against the Cubs (Sept. 23 – in a pennant race)," Locke says. "She went in for surgery the next day."

Locke says the chemotherapy lasted approximately five months.

"She had six treatments and for her, it was a living hell. She finished her sixth treatment about a month ago and a scan two weeks later showed she is cancer-free," Locke says.

"It's unbelievable, the power of a woman," Locke says. "I give up four (runs) and think it's the end of the world … and she's going through chemo."

Locke tried to spend as much time as possible with her in New Hampshire (where he grew up) while still working out at his current home here in Florida.

"She said to me one day, 'I'd made a good Pirate.' and when I asked what she meant, she told me, 'You always fight to the end of a game and I'm going to fight to the end, too,'" Locke says.

While Locke feels incredibly lucky it's not the end, the fight isn't over.

His understanding is his mom will be scanned every three months for the next five years before they can finally be sure she has the cancer beaten.

"I've got to be the only 27-year-old who calls his mother every day," Locke says.

And he hopes he can keep calling every day for years to come.

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