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New England Patriots defensive coordinator Terrell Williams watches his team’s training camp practice in Foxboro this past summer. (Mark Stockwell\/Boston Herald)<\/p>\nFOXBORO \u2014 Days out from his first Super Bowl, Patriots defensive coordinator Terrell Williams has already bagged the biggest win of his life.<\/p>\n
This month, he beat cancer.<\/p>\n
Williams has received a clean bill of health after a four-month battle with prostate cancer, which started with his diagnosis on Sept. 11. The 51-year-old has not traveled for a Patriots game since then, but will fly with the team to the Bay Area on Sunday for Super Bowl LX.<\/p>\n
In an interview with the Herald, Williams thanked his care team at Mass General Hospital, where he was treated over the past four months.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of the doctors, all of the nurses at Mass General, and everyone that\u2019s taken blood samples, all the people there, they\u2019re so important and good at what they do. I appreciate those guys,\u201d Williams said. \u201cAnd I appreciate this organization and the people of New England. When I say that, I mean it. I\u2019m just shocked at how kind the people are up here. And it\u2019s been unbelievable.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully we can bring a smile to their faces on Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n
During his recovery, Williams frequently visited team headquarters, sat in meetings and stayed in touch with players, who said he was an enduring inspiration this season. His return now means even more.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means everything,\u201d Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss said. \u201cHe\u2019s a great coach, he\u2019s a great man. He\u2019s been one of my biggest supporters all year.\u201d<\/p>\n
New England Patriots defensive coordinator Terrell Williams watches his team’s training camp practice in Foxboro this past summer. (Mark Stockwell\/Boston Herald)<\/p>\n
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel told players Williams was cancer-free in a team meeting before their divisional-round playoff win over the Texans, days after Williams received the good news himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cMan, it was hard to see him go through what he went through, but everything ended up working out. God\u2019s got his hand on him, and he\u2019s blessed to be out of that situation,\u201d Patriots defensive tackle Milton Williams said. \u201cSo him coming back, it\u2019s big for our team to continue to play hard for him and play hard for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams originally sought medical attention on Sept. 8, the day after the Patriots lost their season opener to Las Vegas. Williams reported nausea and flu-like symptoms had persisted from the night before when he was up for hours vomiting at home. That day, at the suggestion of Vrabel and head athletic trainer Jim Whalen, Williams visited an urgent care center in Foxboro, where he was first diagnosed with a stomach virus.<\/p>\n
During his examination, doctors discovered the cancer. Though, Williams said, they initially believed it was lymphoma.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt had spread all through my body: up in my collarbone, hips, groin, through my legs. It was all over, and it was super aggressive,\u201d Williams said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s why they thought it was something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams\u2019 initial diagnosis was enough that he and Vrabel agreed he should step away from the team. Results of a biopsy revealed an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Williams then traveled to Boston to meet with his care team at Mass General and discuss a treatment plan, which began almost immediately with a month-long regimen of medications that led into chemotherapy treatments that began in mid-October.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike a lot of people, when I hear cancer, I automatically think death. That was just in my head,\u201d Williams said. \u201cAnd it was like, \u2018OK, am I dying? What\u2019s this gonna look like? What\u2019s the treatment gonna look like? Am I gonna be really sick? All these things were running through my head. And how do we navigate this with the team?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything was going through my head. But the number one thing for me was my health.\u201d<\/p>\n
Back in Foxboro, players learned of Williams\u2019 cancer battle, but continued to see him most every week inside the facility. There, he would walk around with a smile and give gifts to defenders who recorded takeaways in the team\u2019s last game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a perfectionist, so I try to be perfect in a lot of different things. But with him being around, I just think to myself that I\u2019m extremely blessed,\u201d Patriots defensive captain Harold Landry told the Herald in October. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t know, it\u2019s just the attitude, everything that he is as a person, it just makes me go about my day in a much more positive light.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams said doctors told him the cancer threatened his life, though his recovery would depend on how his body responded to the treatment plan. Within a few months, it began to clear. By early January, after five rounds of chemotherapy each separated by three weeks, Williams had beaten it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe only have a certain number of days on this Earth, and everything\u2019s God-ordained. So for the fact that he\u2019s able to get more and be able to spend more time with us and have a clean bill of health,\u201d Elliss said, \u201cit\u2019s just amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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