BYU men's hoop coach has pancreatic cancer

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?num=0&id=4268107<blockquote>BYU basketball coach Dave Rose has been diagnosed with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor cancer.

The university said in a statement on Wednesday that Rose's family announced that tests from emergency surgery he had earlier this month to stop internal bleeding were positive for cancer. Rose had his spleen and a portion of his pancreas removed during the surgery.

Rose returned to Utah last weekend to undergo additional testing at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City and is recuperating at home. Doctors will decide on his treatment.</blockquote>Maybe, hopefully, they caught it early.

 

Sadly, that's not going to make much difference. My dad's was caught early. That give him two months longer that most everyone else gets with pancreatic cancer. The best hope -- and I really mean this -- is that the cancer spreads enough to Rose's liver so he'll die peacefully in his sleep (as my father did) rather than after months of excruciating pain.

I wish Rose and his family all the best, and that they can make the most of the time they have left.

 

by no means do i want to get in a pissing match over such a sensitive matter but please don't say something like "The best hope -- and I really mean this -- is that the cancer spreads enough ..." because that's not true. as i've said here before, my mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the spring of 1999 and after surgery (whipple procedure), chemo and radiation at m.d. anderson in houston, she's still with us 10 years later, healthy as a horse and will celebrate her 77th birthday next month. pancreatic cancer may be the most underfunded cancer out there but advances are being made in treatment and there is always hope.

 

TXSS, I'm glad it's working out for you and your mother. I've had multiple family members with it, and none has lasted more than a year. My point wasn't to get into a pissing match, either. Like you, I was basing what I wrote on my own experiences.

 

should've also said sorry for your loss. my mom obviously is the exception, not the rule. but never accept that there is nothing you can do if diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. i realize the odds are against it, but it can be beaten.

and i'm sure we can agree that not enough resources are going toward this bastard of a disease.

 

The problem with pancreatic cancer is it shows hardly any symptoms until after it's already metastastized (sp?). That's what makes it so deadly. If it's caught early enough, I understand it's no less curable than other early cancers. But catching it early's the tricky part.

 

Hey txsportsscribe -- you ought to drop the Rose family a line with that type of information since I believe most people view pancreatic cancer as the type of ailment you hope nobody you know ever gets and that the person won't be surviving ... most of the experiences seem to be going from fully healthy to not alive in less than six months ... I always remember reading about how Benjamin Orr (who shared vocal duties with Ric Ocasek for The Cars in the 80s) was performing in concert one month earlier this decade and dead from pancreatic cancer the next month. I think he died less than four months after being diagnosed.

Rose is a good guy to deal with but you wouldn't wish this situation on someone who is a complete prick to deal with either. (At least, I wouldn't).