BYU basketball: Rose shares his good prognosis
PROVO — The pancreatic cancer that has afflicted BYU basketball coach Dave Rose is in remission.
The cancer required emergency surgery earlier this month in Las Vegas to remove Rose's spleen and part of his pancreas, and the prognosis for the Cougar coach's recovery is very favorable.
"With the scan we see, there's no further evidence of cancer," Dr. Scott Samuelson said Wednesday in a press conference at BYU to update Rose's condition. "That doesn't mean there's not a possibility that the cancer couldn't come back at some point, but the encouraging thing about that is if it were to come back it would likely come back a long time from now."
And because recent CAT scans at Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City show that physicians at Spring Valley Hospital in Las Vegas were successful in removing all of the pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, Rose has no need at this point for chemotherapy, radiation treatment or further surgery. Doctors don't believe Rose's cancer has spread outside his pancreas.
"These cancers, when they do reoccur, normally don't reoccur for a number of years, and when they do reoccur they tend to be slow-growing cancers that are frequently much more manageable than we typically think of with pancreatic cancer," Samuelson said.
For now, all that is being prescribed is rest to recuperate from the surgery so Rose can regain the strength needed to resume his regular every day activities. For the next two months, Rose will be on a controlled schedule and will delegate much of his coaching and recruiting duties to his staff, with plans to return to coaching full time by September.
"I believe that I am a lucky guy," Rose said in discussing his illness publicly for the first time. "I believe that I've been hit with a challenge but that it's a challenge that is manageable, a challenge that I can handle and continue to do what I love to do. ... It's been as difficult as anything I've ever been through, but I feel like I got a second chance and I'm ready to go."
The first Rose noticed any symptoms was when he felt weak and dragging at BYU's annual fathers and sons camp a few weeks back. Then, on a family vacation to Disneyland the first week of June, Rose became lightheaded. He became even more lightheaded on a flight from California to Las Vegas to meet with wife Cheryl's family for the weekend and had to be assisted off the airplane by paramedics, who transported Rose to Spring Valley Hospital.
Recent comments
After a classy response from "From the U," you have to follow it up...
Re: BYU, the Oral Roberts... | June 30, 2009 at 9:05 a.m.
Glad your back! I will definitely be happy to watch your team lose...
BYU,the Oral Roberts of the West | June 30, 2009 at 8:26 a.m.
Re: From the U: Classy!
Anonymous | June 25, 2009 at 7:45 p.m.
- Holiday television program listings 1:02 a.m.
- Williams, Rose celebrate by playing 12:46 a.m.
- Utes to get tested by Illinois 12:40 a.m.
- Cougs to host Weber St. 12:39 a.m.
- Efforts to save a life praised 12:29 a.m.
- Settle fights, set tone of marriage 12:28 a.m.
- Clearfield balking at UTA plan 12:26 a.m.
- New administration bldg for Davis 12:26 a.m.
- Gallery: Thanksgiving in Utah 12:14 a.m.
- National news briefs 12:12 a.m.
- Man trapped in Nutty Putty cave dies
- Rivalry has had some 'turkeys'
- Holiday television program listings
- Cave rescuers committed to free man
- Highland players make special friend
- Temple Square to use LEDs
- Matt Reynolds vs. Koa Misi
- Salt Lake City woman shot
- Missions teach players perseverance
- Provo star leads Bulldogs to win
- BYU would like friendlier rivalry
262 - Protests against Phoenix LDS temple
210 - RSL wins MLS Cup on penalty kicks
202 - Bronco, Kyle rubber match
139 - Thunder rolls by Jazz
136 - BYU records with win
133 - Letters: Rushing to judge Palin
131 - Boys basketball rankings
117 - Editorial: Poor welcome for Palin
112 - Hall, Johnson matchup key
102
Carlos Boozer denied that playing so well against the Chicago Bulls held...
Wayne Howard was a lightning rod in the Utah-BYU rivalry, back when he...
God bless his family and poor wife and kids. What a tragic story. I can...
If you meant to say 'since when was killing fun?', it's been fun for...
The State has an obligation to insure that agencies it regulates meet and...
Everyone seems to forget that the defensive line also puts pressure on the...
To Stewardship and others: It's very likely that the decision to go LED is...
Seitz was way, way overrated. He was too slow. This was a smart play by RSL.
Even sloan uses 0 cliques at halftime interview, instead, putting his...
Won't they be dimmer? Won't you have to buy more for the same intensity of...
Todd, The players have obviously responded to our new and restructured front...
Korver you need to man up! There has been better players than you that have...


