Dallas Stars play-by-play announcer Dave Strader isn’t about to let cancer keep him from the broadcast booth.

Strader, one of the NHL’s longest-tenured and most-respected announcers, is currently in his upstate New York home battling cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer. But the 36-year veteran broadcaster is fighting to return and call games for the Stars at some point this season.

“I’m just being careful and trying to do everything the doctors tell me, so I can get to a point where I can regain my strength,” Strader said. “We’ll see if a return to the booth is possible at some point this season.”

There is no cure for Strader’s cancer, but it is treatable. Strader said he is doing OK, but he is in between treatments after a cancerous tumor was found in his bile duct in June. He went through one round of chemotherapy, which helped, but also resulted in a negative impact in other areas of his body. Strader went to a second line of chemotherapy, but experienced a rare reaction that turned out to be a major setback.

Strader hasn’t undergone treatments since late September, as he recovers from the latest setback. The next move is a trip to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City for another opinion in Strader’s battle against the disease.

“The big key is going to be the trip to Sloan Kettering to see what can be done,” Strader said. “Hopefully there’s something treatment-wise that can go directly at the disease and help me feel better as the days and weeks go on because I definitely want to get back into the booth at some point this year.”

Strader admits to not having a lot of energy, but he is feeling well and keeps busy by watching hockey.

“Watching the Stars and listening, my mind thinks I could jump back into the booth, but I realize I don’t have anywhere near the energy for three hours, plus the preparation it takes right now,” Strader said. “It has been a nice diversion or escape for me to not think about what I’m going through. I look forward to every game.”

Strader intends to be ready for Nov. 29, as FOX Sports Southwest offered to transport the veteran announcer to Detroit so he can watch the Stars’ final game at the Joe Louis Arena.

“That’s the plan, depending on where I am treatment-wise, and how I’m feeling,” Strader said. “If it works out, it will be my first chance to reunite with the team and reconnect with my Stars hockey family and at the same time see some of my good friends that are still around from my days in Detroit.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since I left, but I still have great memories and I’m looking forward to seeing a game [at Joe Louis Arena] in the final season.”

Strader served as the TV voice of the Detroit Red Wings for 11 years during the 1980s and 90s. He also worked for the Florida Panthers and Arizona Coyotes, while also calling hockey nationally for ESPN, ABC, Fox and the NBC Sports Network before joining the Stars in the summer of 2015.

He can’t wait to see the Stars again soon.

“The Stars’ organization has been remarkable,” Strader said. “To have this opportunity to see them play for the first time, to be around them, and to have it be at the place where it all started for me is kind of cool. I’m very much looking forward to it.”

When Strader initially learned of his diagnosis he went public in hopes to serve as an inspiration to others going through a similar fight. The response has been overwhelming for Strader and his wife Colleen, who has served as caregiver for her husband.

“The support and outpouring of prayers and positive thoughts and cards and letters and emails have been far and beyond anything I could’ve ever expected,” Strader said. “You can’t go through something like this alone. It takes a bigger community of people to help lift you through a time like this. It certainly helps to know that you’re not in this alone.”

The Stars honored Strader during the organization’s annual “Hockey Fights Cancer” night on Oct. 22. He initially planned to be in attendance, but experienced his second setback at that time.