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Wednesday, December 6, 2000
Nelson, 60, tries to remain upbeat
Associated Press
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HOUSTON -- Dallas Mavericks coach Don Nelson was confident
about beating prostate cancer after learning Tuesday that he has an
early form of the disease.
|  | | Don Nelson says he is confident he can beat prostate cancer. |
"I'm not shaken up," Nelson said before the Mavericks' 109-102
loss to the Houston Rockets.
"If it has to be a malignancy, it's good to have some sort of
prostate cancer. It's something all men will have to deal with at
some point, probably. Early detection is the key."
The 60-year-old coach waited until after the game to tell his
players. Nelson will coach the Mavs Wednesday night against the Knicks.
"That really puts the game in perspective," Michael Finley
said. "His life is a lot more important than any basketball game.
But he's a fighter and I have confidence he'll get through this.
We'll all be praying for him."
Added Shawn Bradley: "We knew he'd gone in for tests. That's
something that's very difficult to talk about. You don't think
about basketball at all. Hopefully, we'll all rally around him and
hopefully he's gotten to it early enough. He's in our prayers. I
wish him the best."
Nelson would not comment further after the game.
"I really don't want to discuss that at this point," he said.
"There will be something coming out when we get back to Dallas
tomorrow. I've said all I want to say about my prostate right now.
I've already talked enough about that for a lifetime."
Nelson planned to see his doctor Wednesday in Dallas, and will
seek a second opinion.
"I talked to Nellie this morning and he told me he was going to
get the results today," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said.
"It's bad news, but he told me there are ways to treat it. My
prayers are with him."
A number of top sports figures have had prostate cancer,
including golfer Arnold Palmer, New York Yankees manager Joe Torre,
Hall of Fame baseball player Frank Robinson, Pittsburgh Steelers
president Dan Rooney and former NFL player Jim Marshall.
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