Former NHL Star Paul Henderson Talks Battling Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia [Interview]

Paul Henderson won two Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL. In 1968, he played with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Shortly following that, Paul Henderson scored the winning goal in the final game of the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union for Canada.

Now, Henderson is attempting to win a battle far more important than the game of hockey. The Stanley Cup champion is battling chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which is a type of blood cancer that starts with the white blood cells. White blood cells help build an immune system, which is being affected during this disease.

I spoke with Henderson about the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which was focused on in the month of September.

Jon Fisher: I was reading a lot about you and you’re promoting blood cancer awareness month. Talk about what you’re doing personally to spread the awareness and how to fight it.

Paul Henderson: “Well, I’m in a six-year battle now and I’ve learned some great lessons in life. As a result of this, I really try to encourage people. The first thing that I try to tell people is to educate yourself. Get on the internet, go to conferences and especially find a specialist in the field of cancer that you have.

“It’s really important to be abreast of the protocols that are changing. There’s so many things happening with CLL right now. New drugs are coming online, and I was fortunate to get into the clinical trial and experience that. I try to tell people not to give up.

“Cancer doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a death sentence, but you have to be wise. Take care of yourself physically and get a good team around you. Definitely, do everything you can to fight it. I decided that cancer was not going to define me. I’m alive today and so, I decided long ago that I wasn’t going to worry about this. Life’s too short not to enjoy every day.

“There’s a website that will be coming up shortly. It’s where you’ll get great information about cancer. It’s living-with-cll.com. That will be a great resource for you in finding out what the protocols are and getting involved.”

Jon Fisher: You talked about being wise and having a good team around you. How do you think your experience playing hockey aided that?

Paul Henderson: “Well, hockey is a team game and so is cancer. In hockey, you need a coach and a manager. In CLL (Chronic Lymphotic Leukemia), you need a specialist to guide you through. Obviously, people are a lot more experienced to do that. In hockey, the stronger you are and the better shape you’re in, the better you handle the difficulties. That’s especially when you get hurt all the time.

“I think battling cancer, the stronger you are and better condition you are, you’re going to fight a lot better if you’re in shape. With hockey, lots of times things didn’t go the way we wanted it to. Like, when we didn’t play bad, but we lost. There’s always tomorrow. You come back and you can win again. That’s why I tell people that it doesn’t matter where you are today, it’s the future. I tend to be a pretty optimistic guy overall that’s what I encourage other people to do too.”

Jon Fisher: The “Light the Night” walk sounds like a great opportunity. Talk more about that.

Paul Henderson: “It’s a website, lightthenight.org. That’s for walks in your area. If you want to be involved and raise money for cancer research, that’s another great way to get involved and educate yourself. Talk to those people about what it is.”

[Images via mcleans.ca, steelers.com and powertochange.com]