YASNY Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Quote Joe Cowley, the Daily Southtown's Sox beat writer, accomplished his goal of being on hand to cover Opening Day. Cowley, 36, was diagnosed with lymphoma in November, and after six rounds of chemotherapy, he is in full remission. "It feels great, but it wasn't so much about being here for a baseball-thing,'' Cowley said. "I wanted to be here because it meant that I beat something I wanted to beat and thought I'd beat.'' This was from the Sun-Times, by the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Good to hear. Hopefully he is well on his way to full remission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Lopez Ghost (old) Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 QUOTE(YASNY @ Apr 5, 2005 -> 04:31 AM) This was from the Sun-Times, by the way. There was a much longer article in today's Tribune, describing the various treatments he's had, his family life and more. Also, it went into a contentious past he had with KW, and said KW called him after hearing about Cowley's troubles, encouraged him, stuff like that. Someone more computer savvy will be able to post the article, I hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 That is great. The last I had read was that it was worse than they thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...1,4728961.story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 QUOTE(Al Lopez's Ghost @ Apr 5, 2005 -> 11:44 PM) There was a much longer article in today's Tribune, describing the various treatments he's had, his family life and more. Also, it went into a contentious past he had with KW, and said KW called him after hearing about Cowley's troubles, encouraged him, stuff like that. Someone more computer savvy will be able to post the article, I hope. One of those feelgood stories; Quote White Sox general manager Ken Williams was strolling through the dugout before Monday's season opener when he noticed a photographer pointing his lens at Joe Cowley. "That's the best shot of the day," Williams said. Such a reaction would have been unthinkable as recently as a year ago. Williams viewed Cowley, the Sox beat writer for the Daily Southtown, as his green kryptonite. Cowley's words angered Williams so much that the two went nearly an entire season without speaking. In July 2002, Williams wanted the public to know manager Jerry Manuel would not be fired during the season. But instead of gathering the beat writers, Williams arranged one-on-one interviews simply to exclude Cowley. "No one has been harder on me than that guy," Williams said Monday. But all those feelings melted away in November after Williams learned Cowley was fighting a form of cancer called follicular lymphoma. "Kenny called and said, 'We're all praying for you. You're going to pull through this,'" Cowley recalled. "That showed me a lot. There are bigger things that baseball." Way, way bigger. Like the fear of leaving behind your wife—and never getting to see your son enjoy his 4th birthday. Cowley's cancer diagnosis came with barely a warning. There were no night sweats, weight loss or obvious swelling around the lymph nodes. He had a few vomiting spells late last summer but attributed them to the flu or a food allergy. He was 36 and put other baseball writers to shame with his dedication to playing basketball and lifting weights. And Cowley was tough. This is a guy who grew up in Cleveland worshipping the Steelers, a guy who once had such a long and vicious shouting match near the dugout with catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. it nearly halted batting practice. Cowley was also off-the-charts stubborn. He refused to stand for "O Canada" before a Sox game in Toronto because hockey fans in Montreal had booed "The Star-Spangled Banner." The incident led Blue Jays President Paul Godfrey to write Cowley's editor to demand an apology, which he received. So when Cowley's wife, Molle, first insisted he see a doctor, he said she was being a hypochondriac. When that doctor said he needed to take some blood, Cowley nearly bolted. "I'd rather get stuck with a big knife than a needle," he said. A subsequent CT scan led to these horrible words from his doctor: "We found a mass." Cowley had to undergo two hours of surgery to remove nearly a foot of his small intestine. The Nov. 5 operation was a success, and Cowley has a scar running from his navel to the pelvic bone to show for it. But during the surgery doctors confirmed Cowley had lymphoma, meaning the cancer had invaded his lymph nodes and bloodstream. He would need chemotherapy. "I'm from a [traditional] Italian family, and when I told them it was cancer, they were already picking out a plot for me," Cowley said. "You're not supposed to bury your kid. They were devastated, shut down. They didn't leave the house." The morning after the surgery, Cowley picked up the phone and heard these words: "What are you doing, Cowley? Get up. I'm going to call you every day until you get back on your feet." It was former Manuel. Sure enough, Manuel called every day until Cowley went home. But the worst news was yet to come. Doctors found traces of cancer in Cowley's bone marrow, giving him a cure rate of 50 percent. He was at Stage 4, the most serious of all. And his faith was starting to waver. "That's when Molle gave me a big speech, like Adrian and Rocky (in the movie)," Cowley said. "She said: 'You've been a fighter your whole life. You have another fight. And you can't quit.' "That sunk in and I said: 'That's it. This is not going to be the end of me.'" In early December, Cowley shaved his head in front of his son, Aidan. He and Molle wanted to be open with him, and now it feels better when Aidan kisses him on the head and says, "You're getting better." Cowley, who has lost 17 pounds, down to 158, recently completed his sixth and final round of chemotherapy. His fifth was by far the roughest, as doctors administered shots to stimulate the white blood cells inside his bone marrow. "It felt like a giant picked me up and squeezed me and cracked every bone," he said. "Molle had to help me up the stairs for two days. You just lay in bed and look at the clock and want time to go by. You're in and out of sleep like a bad nightmare." But the nightmare appears to be over. Cowley accomplished his goal of covering Opening Day, and his most recent CT scan showed no signs of cancer. Like Lance Armstrong, Cowley believes cancer survivors are the "lucky ones." "I have a perspective I never imagined," he said, "and that's what I'm thankful for. This has made me a lot better person, a better husband, a better father." But his writing won't change. Cowley is sure to rankle Williams again this season with a story about a contract dispute or a failed trade. "When it comes to the job, I'm still in attack mode," Cowley said. "It's not like I get cancer and become some docile, hippie peace child or something. But at the end of the day, you let things go. All that matters is your family." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rangercal Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Great news Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 That is great news. I've always liked Joe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Apr 5, 2005 -> 08:26 AM) That is great news. I've always liked Joe. I have too. He is one of the few good writers who can write an negative article and be able to back it up, both with his writing, and with his facts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamTell Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 I love good stories like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted April 5, 2005 Author Share Posted April 5, 2005 Some times things have a funny way of hitting home. I, not 15 minutes ago, found out that my father has prostate cancer. Reading that article, and the odds that Cowley faced, kind of helped me put things into the proper perspective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aboz56 Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Glad to hear he is back... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 QUOTE(YASNY @ Apr 6, 2005 -> 12:43 AM) Some times things have a funny way of hitting home. I, not 15 minutes ago, found out that my father has prostate cancer. Reading that article, and the odds that Cowley faced, kind of helped me put things into the proper perspective. Prayers and thoughts with you and your family YASNY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 QUOTE(YASNY @ Apr 5, 2005 -> 08:43 AM) Some times things have a funny way of hitting home. I, not 15 minutes ago, found out that my father has prostate cancer. Reading that article, and the odds that Cowley faced, kind of helped me put things into the proper perspective. for your whole family YAS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjm676 Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Glad Cowley is Okay. I pray for you and your family, YASNY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted April 5, 2005 Author Share Posted April 5, 2005 Thanks guys. You thoughts are appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 QUOTE(YASNY @ Apr 5, 2005 -> 09:43 AM) Some times things have a funny way of hitting home. I, not 15 minutes ago, found out that my father has prostate cancer. Reading that article, and the odds that Cowley faced, kind of helped me put things into the proper perspective. Lots of good thoughts pointed in your Dad's direction, YAS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleepyWhiteSox Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Lopez Ghost (old) Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Only the best to you and yours Yasny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxy Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Oh Yas, that's awful. I'm sorry. Good thoughts and hugs to you and your family... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soxman352000 Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 The feeling of being is unbelieveable. WAY TO GO Cowley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 QUOTE(YASNY @ Apr 5, 2005 -> 02:31 AM) This was from the Sun-Times, by the way. Thats fantastic. He's by far my favorite beat writer. Seems to do quite a good job and has a good relationship with most of the players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 QUOTE(YASNY @ Apr 5, 2005 -> 06:43 AM) Some times things have a funny way of hitting home. I, not 15 minutes ago, found out that my father has prostate cancer. Reading that article, and the odds that Cowley faced, kind of helped me put things into the proper perspective. Thats horrible news Yasny. Thoughts go out to your dad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted April 6, 2005 Author Share Posted April 6, 2005 Again, thanks to eveyone for the thoughts and prayers. We don't know yet how advanced this thing is or anything about a long term prognosis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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