George Carl: Overcoming Cancer A Year Later

It’s been a tough exit from the playoffs, since the Nuggets had been playing so good since the All-Star break and the Melo trade but looking back it still seems a lot better than last year. Last year (if you don’t remember), the Nuggets were knocked out by the lower seeded and less talented Jazz, as they fell apart on interim Coach Adrian Dantley, the early exit fueled fears of Carmelo leaving (which should have been early cheers apparently!), and George Karl remained sidelined with cancer for the second time.  This year, we have a promising young team with room to grow and cap room, and perhaps most importantly, George Karl is back on the sidelines.  

To me, these Nuggets took on Karl’s personality after the Melo trade, playing inspired, tough-nosed basketball with absolutely no quit in them.  It’s what you would expect from a coach who’s always praised selfless ball movement and tough defense, and has lived to those ideals in his personal life as well. 

Lately, with TNT and ESPN micing up coaches, we’ve seen what Karl has to say to his team during huddles and timeouts- but I’ve always wondered what he told himself while dealing with his cancer diagnosis, and the agony of chemotherapy treatments. 

Maybe Karl’s practical optimism was a defining characteristic of not only winning battles on the court but also against cancer.  I’ve read that new studies show that optimism might actually help to increase cancer patients’ chances of survival.  Scientists studying the new field of physchoneuroimmunology, which explores the interaction between the nervous and immune systems of the body, have discovered that positive emotional experiences can actually boost the immune system’s response to fighting cancer cells, for cancers like mesothelioma.  I don’t know if it applies to cancer of the throat as well, but it seems like if it can fight cancer that’s caused by asbestos exposure it should help with everything. 

Regardless, with his coaching smarts, tough-nosed demeanor, great role model skills (who would’ve thought that ten years ago!), and emphasis on good basketball I know that Karl is only man I would want coaching the Nuggets- so even in another early offseason, I’m thankful he’s back on the sidelines!