Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry opens up on battle with cancer

Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry has opened up on his remarkable return to practice, just eight months after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Three-time Pro Bowl safety Berry miraculously returned to the field with his team-mates on Wednesday, just 247 days after doctors discovered a cancerous lump on his chest following a game against the Oakland Raiders on November 20.

Berry was well on his way to becoming one of the NFL's premier players at his position prior to his illness and he took up where he left off on Wednesday as led the defensive backs through their position drills and assumed his normal spot in the starting secondary when the Chiefs went through 7-on-7 drills.

When asked if he believed he could return to football this quickly, Berry said: "My whole thing was that it's going to be what it's going to be.

"I'm going to control what I can control and the two things I could control were my attitude and my effort. I just tried to wake up every day and just build off whatever I did the day before.

"You can't look too far ahead. I did that in the beginning and ended up crying to my dad for about 30 minutes at breakfast because it was a long road. I just wanted to take it day step by step and day by day and see where it took me."

Despite his quick return, the last eight months have been a nightmare for Berry, and he was open and honest as he described his experience.

"It was a battle every day," Berry said. "It was to the point where I had to make goals to where I just had to get out of bed. I would literally stay in bed all day.

"There would be times I would work out and I would end up just crying after the workout just because first of all, I couldn't believe that I made it through the workout, but I couldn't believe that it was that hard. I was trying to push myself to the limit."

On June 22, Berry was declared cancer free having undergone extensive chemotherapy between December 10 and May 13.

The 26-year-old had an allergic reaction to one of the first drugs he was given and he admitted there were times early in the process when the emotional impact of what he was battling overwhelmed him.

"It was terrible," he said. "I couldn’t sleep. It just drained me. You'd look down the road and be like, 'I got six more months of this? And we're only on day one.' That kind of hit me hard.

"It was a tough process, but I had a great support system. Between my mom and dad being in the trenches with me every day - day in and day out - and just making sure I had everything I needed from an emotional standpoint, physical standpoint, everything. That meant so much to me."

After struggling to do five push-ups a day just a few months ago, Berry squatted 325 pounds five times, bench pressed 225 pounds five times and passed every test the athletic training staff recently put in front of him in order for him to get back on the field.

When asked what advice he might offer to anyone in a similar situation, Berry said:: "Fear nothing, attack everything, that's kind of how I did things."