Former Penn State Football Coach Joe Paterno Diagnosed with Lung Cancer

After having been fired as head football coach of Penn State in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky – Penn State child sex scandal, things for Joe Pa mighty have just got worse.

Joe Paterno has been diagnosed in what is called a treatable form of lung cancer. Paterno received the news on the very weekend that he watched his former Penn State football team as a spectator after 40+ years on the sidelines. Joe’s son, Scott Paterno, said Friday that his father’s doctors are optimistic the 84-year-old Paterno will make a full recovery.

“Last weekend, my father was diagnosed with a treatable form of lung cancer during a follow-up visit for a bronchial illness,” Scott Paterno said in the brief statement. The medical exam came the same weekend the school played its first game since the 1960s without Paterno leading the Nittany Lions — a 17-14 loss to Nebraska.

“As everyone can appreciate, this is a deeply personal matter for my parents, and we simply ask that his privacy be respected as he proceeds with treatment,” Scott Paterno said.

VIDEO from ESPN.