Rudy T says he feels fine Cancer fight means dieting, no smoking By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle Fit, happy and cancer-free, former Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich stopped by Toyota Center on Monday thankful for more than even his clean bill of health. Tomjanovich had been told last week that months of immunotherapy had removed all signs of the tumors that had been found in his bladder in March. A Rockets personnel consultant since stepping down as coach in June, Tomjanovich said the experience had him ready to celebrate everything from his faith to his friends to the joy of a well-placed putt (on Pinehurst 2 in North Carolina, no less). "I've been up against some things in my life, and here was another one," Tomjanovich said. "And it was major, just like the other ones were major. I trusted in God and trusted in people, too. "The thing I feel is what a fortunate person I am to have so many good, close, loving friends. I never felt alone in this fight, never alone. That's really big." Tomjanovich said he hoped his battle would serve as a warning about the close link between cigarette smoking and bladder cancer. He stopped smoking as soon as he was diagnosed. But in the months that followed, Tomjanovich said he also changed his diet and his attitude. "Something happened to me during this whole period," Tomjanovich said. "I'm human. I'd get down in the dumps when things didn't go right. Something different happened this time. Right in the beginning, I was in such a positive frame of mind. Instead of feeling unlucky for having this disease, I was very grateful I knew I had it and we had a chance to deal with it. "I was in a business you try to take control of things. In this situation, I knew I wasn't in control. I stepped aside and let the doctors do what they could do. I tried to take care of myself with diet. I had some great people taking caring of me. That's why I'm skinny. I feel great. "Sophie and I and the kids just want to tell all the people who have been praying, it's made our faith stronger, because we believe that stuff works." Tomjanovich, 54, underwent several rounds of treatment on the cancer cells. The initial round of six sessions indicated the treatment could work. His most recent biopsy showed that subsequent, more aggressive treatments had succeeded. "I knew Dr. (Richard) Goldfarb (the deputy chief of urology at The Methodist Hospital) was concerned," Tomjanovich said. "As time went on with the treatments, I could tell he was feeling better and better with this stuff. This is not the way I used to be about these things. I didn't have many bad days. When I started getting into that negative thing, I just turned a switch on and said, `I'm not doing that today.' I feel very lucky. "The family, we all feel relieved. It's been a learning six months. I learned a lot of things about how to take care of myself better physically and diet-wise. And I have to say the No. 1 factor in developing cancer is cigarette smoking. I took care of that right away. I have to get that word out. "I can't go back to the way I was living before as far as thinking. I have to take the lessons I've learned and use them the rest of my life."
He doesn't need to. Les said it all by not being there on the day it came down. Yep. Les wanted to prove the Rockets are his toy, and he can screw the best coach this organization has ever had, in the middle of a fight with cancer, all to bring in another Yankee...
Congrats on rudy, he should be moved up stairs. And if he should get another chance at coaching he should take it, maybe with the sixers................
