Joe Paterno Has Treatable Form Of Lung Cancer

STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 08: Penn State University head football coach Joe Paterno (C) is greeted by a large group of students after arriving at his home, November 8, 2011 in State College, Pennsylvania. Behind Paterno is his son Scott Paterno (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

The news of Paterno's cancer comes a week after his dismissal from his head coaching duties at Penn State.

Nov 18, 2011 - The twists and turns of the Penn State sex scandal continue, with the latest news being sobering. According to a recent tweet by the Associated Press, Joe Paterno has been diagnosed with a treatable form of lung cancer. The news comes after stories surfaced of Paterno visiting a campus infirmary and the hospital on Wednesday night for undisclosed reasons. Paterno has coached from the press box for much of the 2011 season following hip and shoulder injuries sustained during a sideline collision in an August practice, but he's also mentioned feeling healthy before and after the incident.

The 84-year old Paterno lost his job as Penn State's head football coach last week for failing to do enough to stop former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky from sexually abusing children. Sandusky remained close to Penn State's football program for years after then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary allegedly reported to Paterno that Sandusky had been abusing a young boy in a Penn State football locker room shower.