"The players worked hard and did better, so I wouldn’t have to holler. They wanted to make things easier for me, and it really brought us closer together.

Note: This story is adapted from the original version written by Marc Barnes and published in the Summer 2006 issue of Triumph Magazine with photography by Kelli Baxendale.

In 2005, the Alabama A&M Bulldogs lost their first-round matchup in the men’s NCAA Division I basketball tournament—the school’s first-ever appearance in the prestigious event. But the road there was a victory in itself, particularly for Coach Vann Pettaway. Within an hour and a half after the plane brought him and his team home, Pettaway began the first of 43 daily radiation treatments to treat an aggressive form of prostate cancer.

"This was my national championship, overcoming cancer, " says Pettaway in that stern, no-nonsense voice shared by many college basketball coaches. He adds that his win over the disease—which he attributes to God, his family and his doctors—was bigger than any NCAA championship.

Pettaway’s battle actually began a year earlier, when he went in for his annual physical exam. At age 45 and physically fit from running court drills with college basketball players, he expected to fly through this exam as usual.

His physician ordered a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test—a simple blood test used as part of early detection screening for prostate cancer. American Cancer Society guidelines recommend that African-American men and others at higher than average risk talk with a doctor about prostate cancer testing by age 45. Pettaway’s PSA results came back unusually high, so his doctor ordered a biopsy. Those results came back negative, and a follow-up biopsy was scheduled to ensure accuracy. Six weeks later, the second biopsy revealed the cancer.

"The biopsy showed that my cancer was an aggressive type, and my doctor recommended surgery, " says Pettaway. "The diagnosis was at the end of July 2004 and the surgery was on September 14."

Before basketball season began, Pettaway had to break the news to his team. His players were stunned but decided on the spot to dedicate the new season to him, promising to play hard and give their all to Pettaway.

At about the same time, a chance phone call led Pettaway to get involved in Coaches vs. Cancer, a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Pettaway was asked to have his team play in a fundraising tournament in Birmingham, scheduled for two months after his surgery. "I thought that it was meant to be, " he says. "I said yes and I told them why, that I had just been diagnosed with cancer." Pettaway dropped a game from his team’s schedule to make it happen.

Still recovering from his surgery but with his characteristic enthusiasm intact, Pettaway and his team made it to the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic event that November. Pettaway also began speaking publicly about his experience and the importance of timely prostate cancer testing. He received in return calls and cards from across the country. "They all came from people who had either gone through prostate cancer or were going through it," he says. "I heard a lot of words of encouragement."

For this normally strong and passionate coach who jumps up and down and cheers on his players, it was a different kind of basketball season. Pettaway’s post-surgery recuperation would last throughout the season, and he says he experienced considerable weakness, found it difficult to even blow a whistle and sometimes was unable to attend team practices or make it through an entire game. His assistants, Willie Hayes and Sammy Jackson, took on the bulk of the coaching.

"I really couldn’t go into a game without going to the bathroom first, " says Pettaway, referring to a lack of bladder control. "We had an overtime game, and I had to leave the court. But the players worked hard and did better, so I wouldn’t have to holler. They wanted to make things easier for me, and it really brought us closer together. We are a very close-knit group."

Then the team’s hard work began to pay off after a slow season start. Initially picked to finish fourth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, the Bulldogs began to win, eventually taking both the conference championship and tournament title. This achievement earned Alabama A&M and Coach Pettaway a berth in the 2005 NCAA Division I tournament for the first time in school history.

And Pettaway ultimately won, as well. After his surgery and radiation treatments, he received word in December 2005 that tests showed no trace of cancer. Going forward, regular follow-up tests will look for any signs of recurrence while the coach looks to the future.

"I have had great support from my family, from my wife and our two daughters, and we are just moving on. I am not letting it hold me back."

Pettaway says that having prostate cancer has been a learning experience. An old man’s disease? He was just 45 when he was diagnosed. Get it from your relatives? Pettaway isn’t aware of any such history in his family. Can’t have it without symptoms? Pettaway had no sign until the tests came back positive.

Mention the tests that can find cancer early, and Pettaway comes back with a passionate message for men, particularly African-American men. "…the biggest thing for African Americans is that this cancer [prostate cancer] seems more prevalent in us, and we should take it on ourselves to be checked. We have to. You can’t wait for this thing. "

Pettaway says that he is still dealing with some lingering side effects, but overall, he feels better physically—and feels both relieved and fortunate to be able to help others through Coaches vs. Cancer."Every opportunity I get I tell young men and older men that they can save their lives by getting checked," he says. "I am still here now because of my physical. As aggressive as my cancer was, if I had not been checked, I would not have made it through the next year."

Although the most recent season wasn’t as kind to Alabama A&M, losing in the first round of the conference tournament, there will be a next year. For the Bulldogs—and for Coach Pettaway.

More information about Coaches vs. Cancer is available online and by calling 1-800-ACS-2345.