Pat Croce, the 71-year-old former Sixers president, entrepreneur, and spiritual seeker, faced one of his hardest challenges yet: taking chemotherapy pills while trekking Mount Everest.
Once known for his roaring “I feel great!” optimism, Croce built a fortune in physical therapy, helped revive the Philadelphia 76ers, and became a larger-than-life figure in Philly sports, reports Larry Platt for Philadelphia Magazine.
But after decades of chasing success, adventure, and applause, the Lansdowne native turned inward, pursuing meditation, retreats, and a quieter understanding of self.
That journey unfolded against the brutal backdrop of Everest, where Croce battled thin air, back spasms, and irregular heart rhythms while managing Waldenström macroglobulinemia, a rare blood cancer he keeps in check with twice-daily chemotherapy pills.
His goal was never the summit. It was Base Camp, Kala Patthar, and something harder to measure: whether the spiritual practice he’d spent years cultivating could hold when his body was pushed to its limit.
“I don’t have cancer,” he said. “My body has cancer.”
When asked whether his diagnosis was terminal, he looked around the room and answered simply: “I’m dying. But so are you. So is he. And her. And him.”
It’s a line that stops you cold, and it tells you everything about where Pat Croce is now.
The man who once seemed powered by pure velocity has learned to sit inside fear and discomfort without being consumed by them.
In one of the story’s most striking moments, Croce is blinded by snow where he expected a sunrise, and finds peace anyway.
It’s not a story about a man outrunning mortality. It’s about one who has finally stopped trying to.
Read the full profile in Philadelphia Magazine to follow Croce up the mountain and into the quieter, harder terrain of a life fully examined.
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Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on DELCO Today in May 2026
