Nelson Ready To Treat Cancer
Dallas Mavericks coach Don Nelson is exploring options for the treatment of his prostate cancer, which he hopes to take care of as soon as possible.
"The certain thing is we are not going to wait around a long time," Nelson said before Wednesday night's 94-85 victory over the New York Knicks. "We are going to do something as soon as possible.
"I'm not one to sit around and not get things done. I don't think you fool around with cancer."
With his 938th career victory, Nelson tied Red Auerbach for fourth in career victories. Nelson, who is in his 23rd season as an NBA coach, played 11 seasons with the Boston Celtics, the first in 1965-66, Auerbach's last as coach.
Nelson revealed Tuesday night while the team was in Houston that his swollen prostate is malignant.
The coach met with his doctor Wednesday to discuss the discovery. Nelson said the cancer was detected early and hasn't spread to other parts of his body.
"It's pretty well isolated and there's a lot of positives really with this early detection to give me a good opportunity to continue on," Nelson said.
Nelson, who was upbeat while talking to reporters, said the cancer is under control and that there are no immediate concerns about it spreading. He said it was too early to know if he would miss any games.
Among his treatment options are radiation and surgery. If Nelson has surgery similar to what New York Yankees manager Joe Torre underwent, the recovery time could be up to two months.
Nelson said he planned to seek a second doctor's opinion and also planned to talk with Torre.
"Am I scared? No," Nelson said. "It's something I just have to deal with. I don't like to go have surgery done, but it's just a decision. You have to make a decision."
Players were shocked by the news, but said they would fully support Nelson during the recovery time.
"There's no easy way to deal with this, other than to support each other and get each other through it," said guard Steve Nash.
"It's sad news but it's a good thing they caught it early," said Eduardo Najera. "Knowing Nellie, he's going to bounce back from this. There's really no difference in the room. The mood is the same here, we just have to go out and do our jobs."
Nelson, who had decided to retire before Mark Cuban bought th team midway through last season, is in the first year of a three-year contract extension signed during the offseason.
That coaching extension is part of an 11-year, $20 million agreement that would keep Nelson in some capacity with the Mavericks through 2011. He is scheduled to continue as coach and general manager through the 2002-03 season, then retain his general manager duties through 2006 before serving as a team consultant for five more years.
"Until I hear otherwise, I don't expect it to be something where he's unable to coach. I expect him to be healthy for a long, long, long time," Cuban said.
In addition to Torre, a number of other top sports figures have had prostate cancer, including golfer Arnold Palmer, Hall of Fame baseball player Frank Robinson, Pittsburgh Steelers president Dan Rooney and former NFL player Jim Marshall.
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