Patrick McCaffery battling “residual health issues”

Iowa’s Patrick McCaffery sat out of Iowa’s game against Oral Roberts on Friday.

Iowa+forward+Patrick+McCaffery+shakes+hands+after+a+mens+basketball+game+between+Iowa+and+Southern+Illinois-Edwardsville+at+Carver-Hawkeye+Arena+on+Friday%2C+Nov.+8%2C+2019.+McCaffery+finished+2+of+7+from+inside+the+paint+and+had+4+rebounds+on+the+night.

Shivansh Ahuja

Iowa forward Patrick McCaffery shakes hands after a men’s basketball game between Iowa and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019. McCaffery finished 2 of 7 from inside the paint and had 4 rebounds on the night.

Pete Ruden and Robert Read

Iowa men’s basketball forward Patrick McCaffery sat out of the Hawkeyes’ game against Oral Roberts on Friday due to residual health issues from a previous illness.

McCaffery developed thyroid cancer in March of 2011, and his father, Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery, said the issues stem from the illness.

“Patrick has got some residual health issues as related to his previous illness,” Fran McCaffery said. “Nothing life-threatening. Cancer’s not back anything like that. But there are a lot of changes in his body that we are working through. We will take it day-by-day.”

The McCaffery family has been very involved in fundraising for cancer research. In October, Fran and his wife, Margaret McCaffery, announced in October they were donating $100,022 to the University of Iowa’s Health Care’s Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program, a joint effort between the Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Stead Family Children’s Hospital.

The McCafferys helped in launching the program, becoming passionate about the issue since Patrick McCaffery’s diagnosis.

Fran McCaffery said it’s too early to tell if Patrick McCaffery will take a redshirt season.