Chris LeDoux Faces Deadly Liver Disease

By Theresa Cha

Lincoln Journal Star

Country western musician Chris LeDoux has been diagnosed with the same liver disease that last year claimed the life of football legend Walter Payton.

As a world champion bronco rider, Chris LeDoux had his share of hard falls and 8-second rides.

As a country western musician once spurned by Music Row, he went from peddling cassettes out of the back of his pickup to selling more than 5 million albums.

Now LeDoux, 51, known for his rowdy, "rodeo rock 'n' roll," faces another hardship: a liver transplant.

LeDoux has been diagnosed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha with a liver disease and is being evaluated for a possible liver transplant as an outpatient.

The country music star was advised by his doctors from his home state of Wyoming to seek treatment at the medical center because of its reputation "for being a hub for liver research," said Emily Burton, AristoMedia publicist.

LeDoux was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis, which causes bile ducts inside and outside the liver to become inflamed and scarred. As the scarring worsens, the ducts become blocked. This causes bile to build up in the liver, leading to liver damage.

Public awareness of the disease increased when it claimed the life of football great Walter Payton on Nov. 1, 1999. Robert Redford's son also had the disease and was treated at the med center in 1993.

The disease has no known cure nor cause. The slow-developing disease usually strikes those between ages 30 and 60. Patients can survive about two years without a transplant.

LeDoux was most recently at the med center this week for further tests, Burton said. Having detected the disease in its early stages, hospital officials report that he is in great spirits, visiting local restaurants and movie theaters.

Doctors predict a full recovery with a liver transplant. His name was added to the organ donation list, which currently has more than 16,000 people awaiting a liver transplant.

LeDoux, a musician popular with Lincoln audiences, has postponed his concert schedule indefinitely, including a show tonight in Fort Worth, Texas. He was expected to be back in Wyoming today.

Copyright © 2000 Lincoln Journal Star.

This article posted October 15, 2000.