NBA coaches were waiting for cancer. he got itNow he’s back with the Pistons

SAN FRANCISCO — For Bill Bayno, it wasn’t a question of why or how. But when and where?

The New York native and assistant coach of the Detroit Pistons knows cancer all too well. He lost her mother to lung cancer and has watched her lose her precious soul little by little. Bayno’s mother was the sixth of nine members of her family to die of cancer. Behind his head, Bino always knew it would catch up with him. Combining genetics with his love of candies, cookies, and other processed foods, he believed it factored into his diagnosis, and Beino patiently waited his turn.

The way Bayno talks about his relationship with cancer is almost morbid, but peaceful at the same time.

‘I knew I had cancer,’ he said athletic“I wouldn’t be shocked if the cancer came back. I wouldn’t eat any more sugar and hope everything would be fine, but it’s genetic.”

Bayno is back doing what he loves after being diagnosed with prostate cancer over the summer. The assistant coach took time off to recover from surgery earlier in the season. His surgeon, Dr. Craig Rogers, and his team at Henry Ford Health removed the cancer. The surgery allowed him to rejoin the Pistons and travel with the team.

“Thank God I got this when I was on an NBA team,” said the 60-year-old. increase.”

The call Byno expected came in late August. A month ago, he was in line for the annual free health check-up that NBA Coaches Association executive his director David Vogel will conduct for his league this summer. Bayno, who recently turned 60, said it’s been a couple of years since he attended the screening. During his last checkup, Beino found polyps in his colon, but they weren’t cancer. Between the last screening and this most recent screening, Bayno said he felt very well, apart from irregularities in his urine flow and frequent wakings to pee. said.

Bill Beino of the Indiana Pacers. (Brian Munoz/Getty Images)

But the death of Pistons legend and Hall of Famer Bob Lanier in May stalled Beino. The two became friends while playing Basketball Without Borders His Africa. The celebration of Lanier’s life, which was due to take place while Bayno was in Las Vegas for Summer League, made him think twice about dismissing another year’s screening. He was in line for over two hours.

“I wasn’t going to go, but I was like, ‘You know what?’ I turned 60.” I went and said my prayers for Bob,” Bino said.

After Summer League ended, Byno returned to Los Angeles. Shortly after his arrival, he received a call warning that he had a high prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level. From there, Beino went to his UCLA medical center, Ronald Reagan, to get a physical. It came back unusually. In early August, Bayno finally got an appointment for a biopsy. A few weeks later, a biopsy confirmed it was cancer.

“Luckily, if I hadn’t had that screening at Summer League, it probably would have grown in me and walked around all season,” Beino said. is the only problem…if it spreads.Prostate cancer is almost never fatal unless it spreads to other parts of the body.”

Free health checkups at Summer League started in 2018.

“Beino is demonstrating the importance of all coaches having annual health and heart screenings,” Vogel said in a statement. athletic“NBCA Screenings at Summer League provide members with an important health resource. It provides a unique and efficient opportunity to participate in a 30-40 minute health screening process.”

Byno was still in shock, even though his anticipated cancer diagnosis had become a reality. When he found out, he was alone. He first called his family, then Pistons general manager Troy Weaver and head coach Dwayne Casey, who he also worked with in Toronto, to warn them. gave Bino the time he needed to recover from the surgery.

Beino’s next call was to Cade Cunningham, the Pistons’ star player and 2021 No. 1 pick. Cunningham was Beino’s project. It was Beino who trained Cunningham individually, before games and after practice. They worked together throughout the offseason from May to July. They were supposed to get back together in August after Cunningham returned from vacation, but given Beino’s future, he will have to leave that task to development coach Keith Bogans. I did.

“Keith really helped Cade until he got hurt,” Beino said. “I didn’t miss a beat.”

Luckily for Bayno, his cancer was not advanced at the time of surgery. The Gleason grading system, a score for determining cancer severity, showed that all of Bino’s scores were at the lower end. Given his history, Byno couldn’t escape the natural fear associated with the word “cancer.”

“I was always thinking, ‘Dang, is it going to spread? How bad is surgery?” he said. “You’re worried, but you know what my friend went through and look at my mom, cancer is just taking her part every day. I was fine.”

Bayno attributes his vegan diet in part to why the cancer had not progressed at the time of his surgery in October. A vegan diet not only cuts his risk of prostate cancer by 35%, it can also reduce the need for aggressive treatment, according to a study published in 2021.

Bayno has been vegan for 2.5 years, but he admits that doesn’t mean he ate the cleanest. His sweet tooth was always itching. Although there’s no definitive link between excessive sugar intake and the cause of prostate cancer, Bayno used the opportunity to improve his eating habits.

“I ate a lot of processed sugar,” Byno said. “I’ve been vegan for three years in March, and I ate a ton of sugar. Technically speaking, I’m vegan because sugar comes from the earth. I’ve cut it out of my diet and it’s positive. I feel even more energized than I used to.”

By the time the NBA season began, Byno was recuperating at his home in Detroit. A former workout junkie couldn’t do strenuous exercise for six weeks.

After that time Bayno went for a long walk. When the Pistons were on the road to start the season, he was walking his 3.5 miles from his home in Corktown to the Detroit practice facility at the New Center. Upon arrival, Byno said he would do some treadmill work, light weightlifting, and a sauna before returning.

Byno had stopped exercising as much as he used to because he wasn’t gaining weight because he was vegan. Last season, before he arrived in Detroit, there was a period when he couldn’t go a day without exercising, and cancer and recovery forced him to return to his previous regimen.

“Before, I needed a workout, especially for my mental health,” Bino said. “Now I’m back.

“Early on, I was doing a lot of walking after surgery and they wanted me to. They didn’t care how tired I was. said I would be tired.I was really tired for about four to six weeks.”

Last Wednesday, Beino sat on the opposite bench inside the Warriors’ Chase Center. He had the energy, wit and humor that he always had. One coach of his on the Golden State side passed by his Bayno who called his name. He hopped with elation and made sounds that only his excited teenage girls could imitate. Our interview was briefly delayed as the two gentlemen easily caught up.

Bayno is back in a happy place.

Earlier this season, Bayno cut a promotion for Henry Ford Health Systems, talked about his cancer scare, and encouraged others to take advantage of the provider’s free tests. Hundreds checked out after watching.

“It probably saved some local lives in Detroit,” he said.

Bino is very peaceful about what the future holds. He found solace in what in his heart felt almost inevitable.It enabled him to cherish the present more than ever.

“I am grateful to be healthy, have a great life, and be able to focus on the positive things,” Byno said. “I’ll call you again.”

(Bill Beino top photo courtesy of the Detroit Pistons)