Texans rookie receiver John Metchie III shared the devastating news Sunday that he's been diagnosed with APL (acute promyelocytic leukemia), which is so rare that it affects just about 1 in 250,000 people in the United States. APL is a cancer of the blood that leads to a shortage of normal red and white blood cells. The symptoms of APL include being especially susceptible to bruising and excessive bleeding due to the low number of platelets in the blood.
The good news for the 22-year-old, who the Texans drafted out of Alabama in the second round of this year's NFL Draft, is that APL is considered to be the most curable form of leukemia.