Minnesota Duluth men's basketball coach Gary Holquist went in for a routine physical examination in September 2003 when Dr. Steve Long of Mount Royal Medical Center noticed a mole on Holquist's back.
Long took a biopsy of it for diagnosis and Holquist went off on a Wisconsin recruiting trip that took him to Wausau, Milwaukee and Madison. It was cut short, however, after Long reached Holquist on his cell phone and told the coach he had a form of skin cancer.
"I was 45 at the time, in great shape and never sick," Holquist said. "I felt I was bulletproof."
Five-plus years later, Holquist is cancer-free. This weekend at Romano Gym, he is wearing sneakers during the Bulldogs games as part of the National Association of Basketball Coaches' Suits and Sneakers cancer awareness weekend.
UMD senior John Vaudreuil said Holquist was very open about the diagnosis when the Bulldogs coach recruited him out of Bloomington, Minn.
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"My grandparents on my mother's side both died from cancer, and I remember the topic came up when coach visited," Vaudreuil said. "My parents and him just talked and talked. I hardly said a word.
"I think this is great what the coaches are doing this weekend. This is something that hits close to home for a lot of people."
Holquist mostly kept his brief, yet scary, bout with cancer private, but is more open to talking about it now. He says it's important to get the message out.
"I don't think you can talk to anybody in society today who hasn't been affected by cancer in one way or another," Holquist said. "People are dying from it, and we want to send a message to, No. 1, take care of yourself, and, No. 2, get yearly checkups and things like that to combat it."
Holquist is known for stalking the sideline with intensity, so each September he gets a complete physical to make sure he is healthy going into the season -- "The Grind," as he calls it.
After Long told him the news, Holquist at first argued to push back surgery because he wanted to finish his recruiting visits. That's when Long told him the severity of his disease. The biopsy revealed Holquist had a fast-moving malignant melanoma cancer that had to be removed immediately.
"I was stunned," Holquist said. "I personally knew people who had died of that type of cancer. I never thought it could happen to me."
On the drive back to Duluth, Holquist said a million thoughts raced through his mind -- his father had died from lung cancer just two years earlier -- but during the next few weeks, Holquist had substantial tissue removed from his back. Some of his lymph nodes were also removed, and fortunately, they revealed the cancer hadn't spread. Holquist now has twice-yearly checkups to ensure he is still cancer-free.
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"I cannot emphasize enough that constant awareness of your health is imperative, and fortunately, I had a great physician in town here who knew my body and saw something abnormal," Holquist said. "I can't imagine what would have happened if it had gone undetected for another five or six months. I got lucky. Very lucky."
