Coach Randy Kuceyeski is more than a coach. He’s a legend, a leader, an inspiration, a survivor.
Last May, first period rolled around and the football players were called down to the main gym. Little did they know, it was to be told personally by Kuz that doctors found cancer in his throat. It seemed like only minutes later that the whole school was buzzing about the news.
Coach Kuz was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma; it has an 80 percent cure rate for people in Kuz’s category.
His cancer was found in his right lymph node and at the base of his tongue. Prior to the diagnosis, the lump was so large on his lymph node that Kuz could feel it himself and went to the doctor. The doctor then referred him to a hospital to test with an ear, throat and nose specialist; the MRIs confirmed he had cancer.
"It was a shock first. I didn’t want to believe it -- then reality sets in," Coach Kuz said. "After I grasped it, I went through the treatment plan."
His treatment took place throughout the summer for a total of 20 weeks. 10 weeks were of chemotherapy, and 10 weeks were double sessions with radiation and chemo. In the double session, Kuz would spend one week at the hospital, then one week at home for recovery. In total, it was five full weeks of double treatment.
Kuz’s most recent test scans have shown that the cancer on the base of his tongue is gone and the cancer in the lymph node is necrotic, meaning the inside of the tumor is dead. On Nov. 3, he went in to get more scans to see if the cancer was gone and if the tumor needed to be surgically removed.
During his treatments, the other coaches on the football staff carried out practices.
"They went above and beyond the call of duty. It was tough not to be out there with them," Kuz said.
Over the summer, students and players alike came out to help Kuz. They mowed the lawn, cleaned out the gutters, moved boxes, walked the Kuceyeskis’ dog, and brought over food. Some people would come by just to visit with Kuz, and some went to visit him at the hospital.
There was also a Facebook fan page made anonymously in support of Kuz.
"They gave me a purpose to get better for. They were there from day one," he said.
Kuz’s daughter, Ms. Kristen Kuceyeski, is an LHS English teacher. She played for her dad as a varsity kicker in the 2000 and 2001 seasons as a junior and senior. Now, working with her dad, it is a completely different experience. She said it was "humbling" to see the school rally around her dad.
"I have so much gratitude. I know it’s because of you guys, students and faculty, that he is surviving this," Ms. Kuceyeski said.
She also said this experience has changed her whole family forever. Ms. Kuz has taken a life lesson from this experience.
"I need to make sure I’m living a life that makes me happy, to be grateful for the little things," she said. "[I now know] how important it is to have everyone around, how nice it is to see all the [students]. I mean they have done so much."
Coach Kuz hasn’t just touched the lives of players; teachers and faculty have been moved by his positive attitude.
"He’s shown even through the hardest times you can still do what you love," Mr. Brady Sullivan, who played center with Kuz as his coach, said. "He’s a good role model for everyone fighting cancer. It speaks a lot of his passion for the game and his toughness."
Mr. John Fischl, life guarding teacher, and Mr. Jim Schurr, who has coached for 14 years with Kuz, both agree the best advice they have heard Kuz give is, "Don’t count the days, make the days count."
Coach Karl Jennrich, has been Kuz’s right-hand man as offensive coordinator, and is a close friend off the field too, and is Ms. Kuceyeski’s godfather as well.
"I am glad he had the team. He had something to focus on externally, it took his mind off of [cancer]," Mr. Jennrich said.