FSU legend Bobby Bowden suffered from prostate cancer in 2007 ...

Former Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden announced Tuesday morning that he suffered from cancer toward the end of his tenure in Tallahassee.
The legendary coach?who spent 34 years at the helm for the Seminoles?made the announcement on ABC?s Good Morning America, and said that he underwent treatment for prostate cancer in the spring of 2007, just two years before his departure from FSU. Before his appearance on GMA, Bowden had not disclosed the secret to anyone outside of his family.

Bowden chose to disclose the secret now because he will be working as a compensated spokesperson for a prostate cancer education initiative known as On The Line.

?I?m glad to do it because I?ve been through it,? Bowden said. ?They wanted someone who had been through it, and I?m a survivor. It afflicts more men than breast cancer afflicts women, but men don?t talk about it. I?m trying to make people more aware of it. Men need to talk to their doctors.?

Bowden, 81, said that he found out about the cancer thanks to an annual physical exam performed by FSU doctors. Bowden said that he felt fine at the time and had no idea about the cancer?s presence in his body.

?If the doctors hadn?t told me I had it, I probably would have never known,? said Bowden.

Bowden?s dedication to his profession was the reason why he chose to keep the cancer confidential. Bowden feared that if the news of his illness went public at the time of his diagnosis, other coaches would have used it against him in recruiting battles.

?I didn?t say anything because of coaching,? Bowden said. ?In recruiting, if people find out you have some kind of problem, they?re going to magnify it. If you have cancer, they?re going to make it sound like you?re dying. It would have been all over the country.?

Other than Bowden?s immediate family, no one close to the coach was aware of his diagnosis. Current FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher told ESPN on Tuesday that he had no idea that Bowden was sick. Former FSU safety Myron Rolle said via Twitter that he, too, was unaware of Bowden?s illness, despite the fact that he spoke to him every day.

Looking back, Bowden says he didn?t truly understand the significance of prostate cancer, which played a part in his decision to keep the news private.

?If I knew then what I know now [about prostate cancer], I would have considered it my moral duty to bring it out in the open,? added Bowden. ?I thought it was the right thing to do then, but that?s not the message now.?

Bowden finished his career as the second-leading head coach in NCAA football history in terms of wins. He notched 377 career victories while winning two national titles in 1993 and 1999.

Bowden is currently traveling to promote his book, ?Called to Coach?.

Source: http://uwire.com/2011/09/13/fsu-legend-bobby-bowden-suffered-from-prostate-cancer-in-2007/

udp atf kelly clarkson leann rimes seven online calculator online calculator