Patrick McCaffery of Iowa I’m Taking an Indefinite Leave of Absence to Deal with Anxiety

Patrick McCaffery, a forward for the Iowa Hawkeyes, is taking a leave of absence from the club to deal with anxiety he’s been feeling “for a while.”

McCaffery explained his decision in a message, saying he will be away from the squad for an “indefinite” period of time and games, with the intention of “returning when I feel like myself.”

“I have been battling anxiety for a while, and recently it has peaked, which has inhibited my preparation and performance on the court,” he wrote in a blog post. “It’s not fair to myself or my teammates if I’m not myself on the court.” My anxiety has interfered with my sleep, eating, and stamina, resulting in a lack of energy to compete at my maximum potential.

“My struggle with anxiety affects every aspect of my well-being and makes it incredibly difficult to function normally.”

McCaffery stated that his leave of absence has nothing to do with his earlier cancer diagnosis.

The Associated Press’ Eric Olson reported that McCaffery, the son of Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer when he was 13 years old. He endured two surgeries, one of which removed his thyroid, and was treated with two radioactive iodine pills.

Three months after being diagnosed, he was proclaimed cancer-free.

McCaffery is in his fourth season with the Hawkeyes. In 14 games, he has averaged 12.8 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 40.0 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three-point range.

He played 26 minutes in Penn State’s loss on Sunday.

Iowa is currently 8-6 on the season. It is 0-3 in Big Ten action and will seek its first conference victory when it plays Indiana on Thursday.