Having had a checkup in August, Ron LaPointe started his season with the Milwaukee Admirals thinking he was in good health, that there was no trace of the kidney cancer that had forced him to step down as coach of the NHL Quebec Nordiques on Dec. 14, 1988.
In January, X-rays showed a small tumor on one lung, residue of the kidney cancer. "It's not lung cancer," LaPointe stresses. Apparently, during the kidney-removal operation, a nodule floated away and worked its way to the lung. "It didn't show up right away," LaPointe says.On Feb. 5, he entered an intense, still-experimental treatment program at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, some two hours from Milwaukee. It's one of three centers in the country that uses the Interluken form of chemotherapy that concentrates on immunotheraphy. "It's pretty advanced cancer treatment," says LaPointe. It's close to being approved - there's only one more patient still in the experimental stage, he says.
LaPointe had daily chemotherapy treatments for 28 days. "It was a little tough, but with the alternative, it's not that tough," he says. He returned to the coaching bench March 17.
An examination on April 2 showed the tumor had undergone 20 percent shrinkage - "good for the first month," he says. Some people show more shrinkage, some show none. He returns for another checkup April 30, and if that shows further shrinkage, he'll undergo more Interluken therapy because that will show it's working.
LaPointe says he's getting a little tired of talking about it and would prefer to concentrate on the Turner Cup playoffs. "Let's let the players play and not worry about me," he says.