38 Studios founder Curt Schilling has cancer

Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who founded the now-defunct Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning video game company 38 Studios, told ESPN today that he has cancer. Schilling works at ESPN as a Major League Baseball analyst.

"I've always believed life is about embracing the gifts and rising up to meet the challenges," Schilling said in a statement. "We've been presented with another challenge, as I've recently been diagnosed with cancer."

This isn't the first health issue for Schilling, as he revealed last year that he had a heart attack in 2011 and needed surgery. His wife, Shonda, is a cancer survivor.

"Shonda and I want to send a sincere thank you and our appreciation to those who have called and sent prayers, and we ask that if you are so inclined, to keep the Schilling family in your prayers," he said.

38 Studios went bankrupt in May 2012. Since then, Schilling has been involved in the very public battle surrounding the controversial $75 million loan that brought the company to Rhode Island in 2010. The Rhode Island legislature is now considering a settlement to end the matter.