Nuggets Coach George Karl Diagnosed with Cancer

Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl has been reportedly diagnosed with cancer of the neck and throat and will receive radiotherapy and chemotherapy for a period of six weeks.

Karl was said to defeat prostate cancer in 2005, but it is unknown whether the cancer of the neck and throat has anything to do with prostate cancer.

Karl is expecting to miss a game with the Golden State Warriors on February 25 and the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 10.

The cancer caught Karl’s doctor's attention during a routine checkup on Dec 30.  Karl early dismissed the lump as some fatty tissue, but later biopsy indicated the lump's cancerous.

In 2009, 12,290 Americans were diagnosed with laryngeal cancer, which killed 3,660 in the year and 12,610 with pharyngeal cancer which killed 2,230 people in the U.S., according to the National Cancer Institute.

The symptoms include hoarseness or other voice changes, a lump in the neck, a sore throat or feeling that something is stuck in the throat, a cough that does not go away, problem with breathing, bad breath, an earache, and weight loss.

By Jimmy Downs