PHILADELPHIA Flyers coach Roger Neilson has bone marrow cancer andwill need several months of chemotherapy. He said he does not expectto miss any games and is upbeat because the disease was caught early.
The 65-year-old coach said he told his players after practicetoday in Voorhees, N.J.
"Cancer is never good news, but at least it looks optimistic forthe future," Neilson said in a statement. He and a team physicianplanned to discuss his health later in the day.
Neilson said he has multiple myeloma, a kind of bone cancer thatis considered incurable with conventional chemotherapy.
He will receive chemotherapy as an outpatient and could require abone marrow transplant, though doctors told him he could use his ownmarrow and would not need a donor.
"If I did have to take a day or a week off or something, we're ingood shape here with assistant coaches Craig Ramsey and WayneCashman," he said.
"There should be no problems," he said. "Everything should be ableto continue the same."
Neilson had been sick for several months, including duringtraining camp and the early part of the season. Though he nevermissed a game, he coughed a lot and missed several practices.
"I was sick for a while because my blood count was down," he said."But I feel fine, so we're all ready to go," he said.
Neilson ranks ninth in NHL career wins with 431 and has coachedseven NHL teams in 15 seasons. He was hired as the Flyers' coach inMarch 1998. Before that, he was an assistant with the St. LouisBlues.
Since joining the Flyers, he has a 64-43-25 regular-season record.
Multiple myeloma strikes about 15,000 people a year and causesabout 10,000 U.S. deaths annually. The disease usually strikes theelderly, and with traditional treatment they generally survive 2 1/2to three years. When combined with a bone marrow transplant,chemotherapy can prolong life.
"They're optimistic they've caught it early," Neilson said.
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