Angels pitching coach Mike Butcher is cancer-free

Reporting from Tempe, Ariz. —  Mike Butcher was not overly concerned in mid-January when a routine visit to a doctor for a bone spur in his neck led to the discovery of a small growth and a trip to a specialist for a biopsy.

“There was no doubt in my mind I didn’t have anything wrong,” the Angels’ pitching coach said. “I thought maybe it was a cyst.”

When test results showed he had papillary thyroid cancer, “My immediate reaction was ‘Whoa,’ you don’t want to hear the C-word,” said Butcher, 45. “I was shocked.”

Six weeks later, Butcher is a full participant in the team’s spring training workouts, his doctor declaring him cancer-free Wednesday after a follow-up examination to his Feb. 10 surgery in which his thyroid gland and 14 lymph nodes were removed.

“I feel great,” Butcher said. “I saw Dr. Kurt Heiland [the ear, nose and throat specialist who performed the surgery] Wednesday, and things went well. They got all the cancer out. My energy is good. I feel normal.

“I can’t yell as loud as I want to, and I don’t think I’ll be singing any time soon, but for the most part my voice is pretty much back.”

Butcher, who has a three-inch scar at the base of his neck, will see an endocrinologist in early March to determine whether he will need to take radiation pills and to regulate his thyroid medication. He has been told he will not need chemotherapy.

Doctors also told Butcher, who lives in the Phoenix area, that the chances of a recurrence are remote because the growth was detected so early.

“I had papillary thyroid cancer, which is the friendliest cancer you can have,” Butcher said. “Everyone told me if you’re going to pick one out, that’s the one. It’s not the kind that spreads. It’s slow growing.”

One of Butcher’s first phone calls after his diagnosis was to Marcie Salmon, the wife of former Angels star Tim Salmon, who had a similar procedure more than 10 years ago.

“She filled me in on what to expect, what the steps are,” Butcher said. “Knowing her recovery was fine, that she had no speed bumps in the road, that she felt strong and the medication didn’t make her feel sluggish or hyper, was a big reassurance.”

Doctors told Butcher, a former Angels reliever, that there is not necessarily a link between his cancer and his use of smokeless chewing tobacco for 20 years as a pitcher and coach.

Butcher stopped chewing tobacco two years ago, “and it’s something I won’t do it again,” he said. “You’ll never see me with tobacco in my mouth again, and I can say never.”

Short hops

Right-hander Trevor Bell will start the Angels’ Cactus League opener against the Dodgers in Tempe Diablo Stadium on Saturday. Also scheduled to pitch are Eric Junge, Michael Kohn, Matt Meyer, Anthony Ortega and Garrett Richards. … Catching prospect Anel de los Santos jammed his left thumb when he slipped and fell in practice Wednesday and had X-rays Thursday. … The Angels signed catcher Cole Armstrong, who was most recently in the Chicago White Sox organization, to a minor league contract.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com