Carolina duo fight cancer

HOUSTON - The first sign was sudden fatigue, followed by an itching sensation later attributed to blocked bile ducts. A week earlier, Sam Mills had gulped as one of his players was found to have Hodgkin's disease. Now, he feared for himself.

Doctors soon diagnosed the problem. Mills, the Carolina Panthers' 44-year-old linebackers coach, had intestinal cancer and needed chemotherapy. A similar treatment already had been prescribed for Panthers linebacker Mark Fields, who had revealed his Hodgkin's diagnosis in August.

The Panthers have dedicated their season to their ill comrades. During games, players wear a T-shirt adorned with two numbers: 58 for Fields and 51 for Mills, who wore the numerals when he played for Carolina from 1995-97. Both men will spend this week in Houston, continuing their season-long inspiration of the Panthers in preparation for their Super Bowl matchup against New England.

The initial timing of their diagnoses, however, cast a pall over the entire franchise. The Panthers had just broken training camp, quietly optimistic that a special season could be on the horizon. Within a week, one of their most disruptive defensive players was out for the season and perhaps their toughest coach had been stricken as well.

Mills, whose determination as a player belied his 5-11 frame, refused to go quietly; he took treatment during the week and managed to get himself onto the field to coach during games once the regular season began.

"Initially, our team was in shock,'' Panthers coach John Fox said. "We were set back by it, both as a staff and the players. But as time wore on, the kind of individuals both of them are (showed). We saw them battling maybe the biggest fight of anybody's life. They became an inspiration to all of us.''

Fields, 32, also kept in contact with players and coaches, providing real-life context to the "struggles'' of an NFL season.

Kevin Seifert writes for theMinneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune.