PRORODEO Sports - April 24, 2026 Digital Edition

D ean Thompson has become accustomed to battling. He does it for eight seconds every time he climbs into a bucking chute. The 2024 PRCA Bareback Riding World Champion wins most of his battles with some of the best buck ing horses in PRORODEO, but a hang-up at the Cave Creek (Ariz.) Rodeo Days on March 29 resulted in a trip to a hospital in Park City, Utah, for examination of his wrist and chest. DEAN THOMPSON OPTIMISTIC AMID BATTLE WITH CANCER By Alex Dodd The initial results looked good. His wrist was fine and there was no bleeding in his chest, but the doc tors noticed swelling of Thompson’s lymph nodes on the right side of his neck and referred him to an ear, nose and throat specialist. On April 3, a biopsy diagnosed Thompson with Burkitt Lymphoma, and he began a new fight against cancer. “It’s probably been the hardest thing, at least for my wife and me, that we’ve ever been through,” Thompson said. “Before we had any idea, besides the lymph nodes, that I had can cer, I mean how are we supposed to sleep with that? Without the answers, it’s impossible. My entire family knows how healthy I am. I live in a very active family, and it just doesn’t make sense. “That’s what, that was the common theme. My whole family is just pretty much in denial. It’s such a shock, honestly. There were thou sands of tears shed, and lots of prayers said. It’s been a shock.” Burkitt’s Lymphoma is an aggressive and fast-moving form of cancer. After the doctors called with the news, they immediately asked Thompson to drive the two and a half hours from his home in Altamont, Utah, to Salt Lake City and start treatment. He began chemotherapy on April 5. “We’ve had a pretty consistent information stream coming in of what treatment is going to look like and what we’re going to have to do to beat this thing,” Thompson said. “Burkitt’s is so aggressive, and this is pretty much the heaviest-hitting chemo that they give for anything.”

APRIL 24, 2026 PRORODEO SPORTS NEWS DIGITAL MAGAZINE 15