Bobcats head coach and GM Thibodeau vows to win fourth battle with cancer
Gord Thibodeau could feel it.
The symptoms were back. All the signs were pointing again in the same direction with which he’s become all too familiar with the past two decades.
As a head coach in the Alberta Junior Hockey League for 22 years, Thibodeau has beaten many worthy opponents, but he’s in the midst of battling his most formidable opponent yet. Cancer was back. Thibodeau is staring at another showdown with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma — for a fourth time.
The Lloydminster Bobcats general manager and head coach was officially diagnosed in February.
“It’s been a constant battle. It’s almost like I’ve lived with this enemy beside me, and every five or 10 years I have to push him away. It never seems to fully cure,” said Thibodeau, who first battled the disease in 1989 as a standout defenceman for the Alberta Golden Bears.
“As a hockey coach, you are always pushing your players to never quit and it’s ironic from a hockey standpoint. I have to tip my hat to this cancer for sticking around. I almost have a begrudging respect for this disease for not quitting. but I’m not giving up, either.”
His prognosis is positive —nonHodgkin’s lymphoma is one of the most treatable cancers if detected early enough — but it doesn’t make it any easier to overcome.
Thibodeau is a private person. He’s not speaking out about his personal battle for pity, he wants people to be more educated. If someone battles and beats it once, it doesn’t mean it’s over. He’s living proof. Thibodeau went for a biopsy in December and doctors discovered swelling in his lymph nodes in his neck. In January, he was diagnosed with streptococcus pneumonia. Doctors immediately started looking deeper. Deep down, he knew. “They did some more tests, and the doctor came back and said, ‘I’m sorry to tell you, but the test came back positive,’ ” Thibodeau recalled.
“In the back of my mind, I knew the cancer was back, but I was trying to hold off dealing with it for as long as I could. The timing was awful. My wife was going through another episode with her MS, but I had a lot of thoughts running through my head. I was beginning to wonder if this was it.
“I took time before I reached out and got confirmation. It was stupid when I think about it, but it was because of fear. Thank God, the time factor didn’t cost me.”
He’s facing this battle just like every other: With fierce determination.
He started chemotherapy in March. Six rounds of chemo are performed in 21-day cycles. He has just one treatment left.
“Going through chemo, you have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, and that’s not an easy thing to do.
“There are so many toxicities … it’s difficult to sleep. The low periods are from Day 5 to Day 7. That’s the touchy part, where you have to be careful you don’t pick up an infection.”
He waited for the right time to tell the Bobcats organization and his players.
It came to a point he couldn’t hide it anymore. Worry set in.
“I wanted to make sure they understood that I was going to battle and fight this, and it wasn’t going to affect our hockey team in any way,” Thibodeau said.
“They got totally behind me. They were anxious to hear updates. They understood when my strength wasn’t there some days.”
Under Thibodeau, the Bobcats enjoyed their best season in franchise history. A 44-win campaign, and they made to the RBC Cup Final last month.
In his most trying time, having hockey around him was exactly what he needed. On days when he was suffering from treatments, he looked forward going to the rink.
“Knowing that I was going to be having the treatments and we were gearing up for the RBC, I wanted to make sure the kids enjoyed it, I enjoyed it and our staff enjoyed it, and I was very proud of how we went through the tournament,” Thibodeau said.
This experience has taught him so much, especially behind the bench.
“If anything, it’s re-emphasized how fortunate and how lucky I am to do what I do. I am coming close the end of my career, but it could end at any time.
“As a coach, you always have this big picture window. You’re always concerned about next year, the next group, but you don’t take into consideration how great your year was. You have to appreciate the little things.”