Bobby Bowden: Florida State Legend Speaks About Private Battle with Cancer

According to Andy Gardiner at USA Today, Bobby Bowden kept a battle with prostate cancer a secret from everyone except his immediate family for over four years now.

He recently disclosed that he underwent treatment for the disease back in the spring of 2007. He decided against going public with his medical ailment due to fear that opposing programs would use it as a way to convince potential recruits away from his Florida State program.

"I did not understand the significance of prostate cancer back then," Bowden said in an interview with USA TODAY. "What I knew was when something like that happens to a coach and your opponents find out about it, the first thing they say is 'Don't go to Florida State; Coach Bowden is about to die.”

He regrets his decision to not go public and spread awareness during the process, but is now doing more than his fair share. He has teamed up with On the Line, a national education movement to teach men about the dangers of prostate cancer.

After lung cancer, American men are most likely to die from prostate cancer. It affects one in six men at some point in their life, and Bowden compared this to his former profession.

“There's a saying in my business that there are two kinds of coaches—those who have been fired and those who haven't been fired yet," Bowden said. "That's kind of like prostate cancer. Every man will have it if he lives long enough."

He believes that men need to be more open about their medical problems and get tested regularly, especially as they age.

Bowden went through extreme lengths to keep his procedure quiet. He was listed under an alias and rushed to a secure part of the hospital during the wee hours of the night. He recuperated quickly and was out before the sun rose.

I think that the public and potential players would have rallied around Bowden in his time of need. Joe Paterno has dealt with health issues throughout his recent years at Penn State, but still manages to bring in top recruits.

Bobby Bowden could have done things differently, but it’s good to know he is healthy and now advocating the right thing to do.