Mario Lemieux sends heartwarming letter to young cancer patient

Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1993. (Fred Vuich/AP)

Mario Lemieux has a first-hand understanding of the pain and struggle of dealing with cancer.

Diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1993, Lemieux was forced to undergo radiation treatments that put his career in jeopardy.

With that experience a major part of his past, the former Pittsburgh Penguins captain is able to closely empathize with those going through the arduous battle with the disease. The NHL legend recently penned a heartwarming letter and sent an autographed hockey puck to five-year-old Darran Dunlap, who was diagnosed with leukemia in November. Lemieux encourages the child to lean on her friends and family during this difficult time and continue to fight.

Read the letter for yourself and make sure you have some tissues handy:

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.