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Vanderbilt assistant Osia Lewis diagnosed with liver cancer

(AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
(AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Osia Lewis, Vanderbilt’s outside linebackers coach, has been diagnosed with liver cancer.

The school announced the news on Tuesday and said Lewis first began exhibiting symptoms (nausea, dizziness and stomach aches) in November, but he coached the rest of the Commodores’ 2016 season. After a series of tests, the diagnosis — cholangiocarcinoma, a form of liver cancer — was revealed in mid-January.

“Emotionally, I was kind of numb for about two or three days,” Lewis said of the diagnosis per Vanderbilt’s athletics website. “I just didn’t have anything to say. I didn’t cry, nothing – it was just nothing.”

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Now undergoing chemotherapy treatment, the 54-year-old Lewis has transitioned into a role as head coach Derek Mason’s “chief consultant” with spring practice around the corner, beginning Feb. 27. He also holds the title of “senior defensive assistant.”

Lewis will transition to chief consultant to the head coach and senior defensive assistant. The Commodores plan to tab Lewis’ full-time replacement at outside linebackers coach at a later date. The move will not include on-field duties but will allow Lewis to keep his office at the McGugin Center and meet with Vanderbilt’s staff, helping to maintain continuity for a program on the rise in the SEC.

In the meantime, Lewis said he is thankful Mason and the Vanderbilt staff decided to stick by him.

“I’ll just be a cheerleader for our guys, like a dad,” Lewis said. “But as soon as I’m ready to go, I’ll be back.”

Lewis, who joined the Vandy staff ahead of the 2016 season from San Diego State, and Mason have known each other since Mason was a teenager. He said Lewis is “family.”

“Osia is family,” Mason said. “Some people run from these things, but we’ve chosen to run to it. I believe Osia and Darlene, with what they’ve poured into this program, their journey is a testament to what it means to be family. They’ve given everything they have to this program, moving from San Diego to Nashville because I asked them to. I truly believe it’s important for us to take the journey with them. That’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

Lewis was the defensive line coach at San Diego State from 2011 to 2015. Before his time at SDSU, he had stints as an assistant at UTEP, New Mexico, Illinois and Oregon State.

For more Vanderbilt news, visit VandySports.com.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!