Beating the odds: NMSU coach spreads awareness for two-time cancer-survivor mom

Beating the odds of cancer can be a rare yet hopeful story.

The head coach of NMSU Men's basketball in Las Cruces is spreading cancer awareness after his mother beat cancer twice.

"I think we always had that relationship that might be a little bit closer than most normal mothers and sons," said Coach Jason Hooten.

What goes on at home, sometimes doesn't stay off the court. 

After hearing about his mother's cancer diagnosis, Hooten said he felt regretful not being able to be by her side more during those hard times. 

In 2007, his mother Kathy Gilmore got a call with bad news. 

"And, she said, 'I just found your report and you do have breast cancer.' And, I really can't explain, but what feelings you had, scared of the unknown." What's going to happen? I didn't know any details of course."

She chose to get a double mastectomy -- a decision many women struggle to accept. 

And just one year later, she was diagnosed with colon cancer, and eventually got her colon removed after struggling with ulcerative colitis for 36 years.

"I look back and I think if I had been probably 35, it, it might have been a different decision. But being 57 years old, thinking, you know, there's things more important than my looks. And, so that was why I made that decision, said Gilmore.

"Now, when it came to having my colon removed, that was a little different. I was very hesitant on that," she continued. "And my husband had overheard the conversation with the doctor when he called me and he said, 'There's nothing you're even going to consider, we have to do this.'"

Coach Hooten told ABC-7 how it all affected him 18 years ago. He only described his mother as a  positive and strong woman.

"I remember that I was able to go to the hospital and I was there for the surgeries. You know, I think the best thing about my mother was her not wanting to take me away from my job or away from what I had in my responsibilities," said Hooten. "And really, when you look back at that, you know, that being that type of a selfless person, it just says so much about her."

He says his mother had a great support system, but being her son and living miles away, was something that made him helpless.

Even when he couldn't be there for her, she was there for him — watching every game from home. 

"You know, being the only child, you feel like you need to be there even more. And that was what made it a little bit more difficult..." added the coach. "There's a lot of things that go through your mind. I think the number one thing is you think about your mother for sure, but then you start to think about your family and how that affects everyone. And you know, you've got to be there for them, and yet you're still trying to be there for your family."

Hooten said him and his team are like one big family. And anything that one person goes through, affects the whole team. 

"I have 15, 16 players and I am their father away from home. And so there is a level of family, I think that goes even deeper than your family…," he continued.

"And so now we're all in one. And if one of our players has a mother who's sick or has a mother who passes away, you know, we're here for them. You know, because I want that that same level of trust and that same level of comfort that I had, when my mother was at her sick moment."

It might've happened over a decade ago, but it's an experience that shifted his view of life. One thing he learned, is to never take time for granted. 

"We all get busy, we all have hard jobs, we all have a lot of things to do," Hooten said. "And we get carried away and we forget about the things that are even more important. Right? Like our family and our health. So that would be my message more than anything."

Gilmore said she always has and will be grateful for every day that she continues to be alive and well.

"We have to go through sufferings to come closer to God and I every day count my blessings that I was one of the lucky ones that did survive and didn't have to do all the treatments," said Gilmore.

"I have friends now that are going through them, I hope that I have supported many people and helped them through their journey, both colon and breast cancer. And I feel like that's what God gave me this journey to do."

Both the coach and his mother said they advise people to eat and stay healthy and to always schedule procedures like mammograms or colonoscopies.