ESPN Reporter Edward Aschoff’s tragic death on his 34th birthday last month was the result of an un-diagnosed case of stage 4, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, his fiancée, Katy Berteau, said on Wednesday.
“After his passing, the hospital received the final results from his lung biopsy,” Berteau said in a statement posted on Twitter. “Unbeknownst to us, Edward had stage 4, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in his lungs. This is an aggressive type of cancer that is usually undetectable until it is very advanced.”
As a result, Aschoff apparently suffered from hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a severe systemic inflammatory syndrome that can be fatal. “Both pneumonia and non-Hodgkins lymphoma can trigger HLH in the body and that is seemingly what happened with Edward, Berteau continued. “All of this combined is what led to his very rapid decline those last few days, and ultimately his passing.”
Aschoff was diagnosed with pneumonia shortly after covering the Nov. 30 Big Ten game between Ohio State and the University of Michigan, as he wrote in a Dec. 2 Instagram post. He died on Dec. 24 at age 34.
After graduating from the University of Florida in 2008, Aschoff covered Gators football for The Gainesville Sun. He joined ESPN in 2011 as an Atlanta-based SEC reporter for ESPN.com.
He moved to Los Angeles in 2017 for a more expanded reporting position that included television coverage. Over the past three seasons, Aschoff reported for ESPN.com, SportsCenter, SEC Network and ESPN Radio in addition to working as a sideline reporter during college football games for both radio and TV.
See Berteau’s full statement below.
(1/9) Hi all, Katy again- this will be my last post on Edward’s social media. I wanted to provide an update about Edward’s passing that may help people in processing it and making a little more sense of what happened. pic.twitter.com/6x7HPsZqZn
— Edward Aschoff (@AschoffESPN) January 16, 2020
(3/9) Both pneumonia and non-Hodgkins lymphoma can trigger HLH in the body and that is seemingly what happened with Edward. All of this combined is what led to his very rapid decline those last few days, and ultimately his passing. pic.twitter.com/blXaF6UJC3
— Edward Aschoff (@AschoffESPN) January 16, 2020
(5/9) I hope this information helps people in dealing with this tragedy. It has helped me knowing that his passing was inevitable, and I’m at least grateful he didn’t have to go through the painful treatment and drawn out process of battling the disease pic.twitter.com/4nr4Gys1em
— Edward Aschoff (@AschoffESPN) January 16, 2020
(7/9) In lieu of flowers, we’re asking that donations be made to a scholarship fund being set up by the University of Florida’s School of Journalism and Communications (see end for details). He loved mentoring and sharing his advice for up-and-coming journalists and reporters. pic.twitter.com/9n9AlYo7B0
— Edward Aschoff (@AschoffESPN) January 16, 2020
(9/9) Donations to the Edward Aschoff Memorial Fund at UF’s College of Journalism and Communications can be made out to the “U.F. Foundation”, sent to P.O. Box 14425, Gainesville, FL 32604, Attn: Gift Processing. Please note "Edward Aschoff Memorial Fund" in the memo area. pic.twitter.com/7AC7xcKz3b
— Edward Aschoff (@AschoffESPN) January 16, 2020