Nuggets coach focuses on fighting son's cancer

Coby Karl will have another surgery to treat thryoid cancer next month.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Denver Nuggets coach George Karl always takes his son, Coby, on one in-season NBA road trip. This time, the trip has special meaning.
They share a bond that goes beyond father-son and basketball. George Karl is a cancer survivor. Coby, 23, is fighting the disease.
The Nuggets started a five-game road trip Tuesday night at New Jersey. This will be their last trip together before Coby, a senior guard at Boise State, has another surgery to treat thyroid cancer on April. 2.
Gets emotional
"It's hard, and made me realize I have to take care of him," an emotional George Karl said before the Nets game. "Our goals and missions and priorities are to get him healthy."
The surgery will be the second in 13 months for Coby Karl, who had his thyroid removed after being diagnosed with papillary carcinoma, a form of treatable cancer. He also underwent chemotherapy to try to kill off any remaining cancer cells shortly after his surgery.
The younger Karl will have cancerous lymph nodes removed April 2, two days after playing in the NABC All-Star game in Atlanta.
"He's a strong kid," George Karl said. "In his mind he has a strong case of the flu. He doesn't read the books I read or talk to the doctors I talk to. He doesn't want to hear that. He feels like he'll just go get it done. He calls it an annoyance to him."
Karl laughs a little when he thinks about what his son said. But he knows it's more than an annoyance.
George Karl knows all about it. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2005 and underwent surgery.
Dealing with his son's disease has not been easy. Coby recently had about 10 to 15 doctors appointments and underwent five to 10 tests before the latest game plan was drawn up to treat what has been described as a curable cancer.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.