Liam Hendriks thinks he may have been pitching with lymphoma most of last season after he discovered lumps in his neck and then hips last June.

The Chicago White Sox closer is cancer free now and ready to return to the big leagues after he completes a rehab assignment which begins this weekend for Triple-A Charlotte.

"As of now I have a clean bill of health," Hendriks, 34, said. "I'm currently in remission."

Diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in December, Hendriks immediately took the attitude that he was going to beat it and be back on the mound in short order.

"I never looked at it as a 'why me thing?'" Hendriks explained. "I looked at it as 'why not me?' I tend to have a more rosy perspective on life than (the general population) so that was my process behind it. 'I've got this. This is my next challenge.'"