duncan228
10-30-2008, 11:02 PM
Spurs' Bowen pledges his game and his cash to beating cancer (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_Bowen_pledges_his_game_and_his_cash_to_beati ng_cancer.html)
By Bryan Chu
For Bruce Bowen, happiness and sorrow no longer hinge on wins and losses.
“Moments after a game, if I'm upset, I just sit back and realize there are bigger things than just getting upset about a game,” Bowen said after the Spurs lost to the Phoenix Suns in Wednesday's season opener.
Bowen, the Spurs' veteran small forward and defensive specialist, said he owes his newfound perspective to a hairstylist from Scotland.
Linda Harsh was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 and brain cancer just two years later. Despite turbulent times, Harsh keeps a positive spin on life and remains one of the most popular stylists at Yardley's Salon & Spa, owned by Bowen and his wife, Yardley.
“I told Linda from this point on — until the day I stop playing ball — my season will be dedicated to you because of your strength and the things you represent,” Bowen said.
Every November, with the help of Harsh, Bowen plans to donate 20 percent of all gross proceeds from his business and then match that out of his own paycheck to Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit organization that educates the public about breast cancer and the importance of early detection.
“He is certainly someone that is my idol,” said Harsh, in her thick Scottish accent. “Forget the sports, he really is a star.”
Harsh, 56, has had her fair share of bad luck.
It was Feb. 12, 2006, her 15th wedding anniversary.
She discovered a lump in her left breast while at home watching a Spurs game with her husband, Bob. She had a biopsy two days later, revealing aggressive, fast-growing HR negative breast cancer.
The following month, Harsh underwent surgery at Methodist Hospital. Doctors said it was successful, and there were no signs of the cancer in the lymph or circulatory systems. Chemotherapy followed, a cycle Harsh said was draining. She lost her hair, but her effervescent personality remained.
“Bruce tells me how to do my hair now,” Harsh, a stylist for 43 years since her youth in Scotland, joked about the bald-headed Bowen.
Harsh has been working for Bowen since the salon and spa opened in December.
She has been both a friend and confidant to Bowen, who calls her his “go-to gal.”
“(Spurs forward) Tim (Duncan) is a go-to guy; you go to him and he's going to produce,” he said. “She is one of our established hairstylists, and we feed ideas off each other.
“Sometimes I just talk to her to get a fresh outlook on life.”
She has a feverish work ethic, a trait Bowen is known for on the court. There's no slowing her down. During an interview she was munching on a small piece of chocolate, her first meal of the day. She never finished because she was busy, doing highlights on two clients.
“Sometimes I tell her to slow down a bit,” Bowen said. “Her clients know what she's going through but they still go, ‘I know you're tired, but can you just please fit me in?'”
Deja vu struck Aug. 5.
It was 9 a.m.
Harsh was with a client, who was donating her hair to Locks of Love, a nonprofit that provides hair to underprivileged kids with medical hair loss. Her client brought friends and champagne glasses to celebrate.
Suddenly, a splitting headache took over. Then a flash in her right eye. Blurred vision followed. She still finished the cut and applied a coloring on another client. The headache never went away.
A few hours later she was admitted to the hospital. Tests revealed a small tumor on her brain.
“It was the fast-growing HR negative breast cancer, the same as the first tumor,” Harsh said. “It was pressing against my optical nerves.”
Bowen spent several hours by her bedside.
“There were so many things going on in her mind, and I was trying to take her mind off of that,” he said. “Let's talk about Ohana (meaning family in Hawaiian), movies, anything. It was more like let me be here for her.”
It was Aug. 8.
Doctors said they removed the tumor successfully. Chemotherapy followed soon.
“I had my last MRI on Monday, they think they might have got it,” Harsh said. “They won't say for sure, but it's looking very good.”
The mood at the salon brightened considerably when Harsh returned to work.
“Everyone's face just lit up,” Bowen said.
Bowen often calls Harsh into his office just so the two can talk about life and share a good laugh.
“You have to just love those around you and pass on what you can,” Harsh said.
Harsh admitted that she wasn't a big basketball fan until she saw Charles Barkley and Dennis Rodman play in the Alamodome. Bowen laughed out loud.
“Rodman was the coolest guy,” she said. “I never got to do his hair though.”
The atmosphere in the locker room was somber after Wednesday's season-opening loss to the Suns. Bowen was treating his feet in an ice tub. But when moments get tough, he thinks about Harsh. He doesn't have to look too far to feel her presence.
Penned in silver marker on the outer side of both his black Nike shoes are Harsh's initials, “L.H.”
“I'm looking at someone with the strength of no one I've known before,” Bowen said.
By Bryan Chu
For Bruce Bowen, happiness and sorrow no longer hinge on wins and losses.
“Moments after a game, if I'm upset, I just sit back and realize there are bigger things than just getting upset about a game,” Bowen said after the Spurs lost to the Phoenix Suns in Wednesday's season opener.
Bowen, the Spurs' veteran small forward and defensive specialist, said he owes his newfound perspective to a hairstylist from Scotland.
Linda Harsh was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 and brain cancer just two years later. Despite turbulent times, Harsh keeps a positive spin on life and remains one of the most popular stylists at Yardley's Salon & Spa, owned by Bowen and his wife, Yardley.
“I told Linda from this point on — until the day I stop playing ball — my season will be dedicated to you because of your strength and the things you represent,” Bowen said.
Every November, with the help of Harsh, Bowen plans to donate 20 percent of all gross proceeds from his business and then match that out of his own paycheck to Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit organization that educates the public about breast cancer and the importance of early detection.
“He is certainly someone that is my idol,” said Harsh, in her thick Scottish accent. “Forget the sports, he really is a star.”
Harsh, 56, has had her fair share of bad luck.
It was Feb. 12, 2006, her 15th wedding anniversary.
She discovered a lump in her left breast while at home watching a Spurs game with her husband, Bob. She had a biopsy two days later, revealing aggressive, fast-growing HR negative breast cancer.
The following month, Harsh underwent surgery at Methodist Hospital. Doctors said it was successful, and there were no signs of the cancer in the lymph or circulatory systems. Chemotherapy followed, a cycle Harsh said was draining. She lost her hair, but her effervescent personality remained.
“Bruce tells me how to do my hair now,” Harsh, a stylist for 43 years since her youth in Scotland, joked about the bald-headed Bowen.
Harsh has been working for Bowen since the salon and spa opened in December.
She has been both a friend and confidant to Bowen, who calls her his “go-to gal.”
“(Spurs forward) Tim (Duncan) is a go-to guy; you go to him and he's going to produce,” he said. “She is one of our established hairstylists, and we feed ideas off each other.
“Sometimes I just talk to her to get a fresh outlook on life.”
She has a feverish work ethic, a trait Bowen is known for on the court. There's no slowing her down. During an interview she was munching on a small piece of chocolate, her first meal of the day. She never finished because she was busy, doing highlights on two clients.
“Sometimes I tell her to slow down a bit,” Bowen said. “Her clients know what she's going through but they still go, ‘I know you're tired, but can you just please fit me in?'”
Deja vu struck Aug. 5.
It was 9 a.m.
Harsh was with a client, who was donating her hair to Locks of Love, a nonprofit that provides hair to underprivileged kids with medical hair loss. Her client brought friends and champagne glasses to celebrate.
Suddenly, a splitting headache took over. Then a flash in her right eye. Blurred vision followed. She still finished the cut and applied a coloring on another client. The headache never went away.
A few hours later she was admitted to the hospital. Tests revealed a small tumor on her brain.
“It was the fast-growing HR negative breast cancer, the same as the first tumor,” Harsh said. “It was pressing against my optical nerves.”
Bowen spent several hours by her bedside.
“There were so many things going on in her mind, and I was trying to take her mind off of that,” he said. “Let's talk about Ohana (meaning family in Hawaiian), movies, anything. It was more like let me be here for her.”
It was Aug. 8.
Doctors said they removed the tumor successfully. Chemotherapy followed soon.
“I had my last MRI on Monday, they think they might have got it,” Harsh said. “They won't say for sure, but it's looking very good.”
The mood at the salon brightened considerably when Harsh returned to work.
“Everyone's face just lit up,” Bowen said.
Bowen often calls Harsh into his office just so the two can talk about life and share a good laugh.
“You have to just love those around you and pass on what you can,” Harsh said.
Harsh admitted that she wasn't a big basketball fan until she saw Charles Barkley and Dennis Rodman play in the Alamodome. Bowen laughed out loud.
“Rodman was the coolest guy,” she said. “I never got to do his hair though.”
The atmosphere in the locker room was somber after Wednesday's season-opening loss to the Suns. Bowen was treating his feet in an ice tub. But when moments get tough, he thinks about Harsh. He doesn't have to look too far to feel her presence.
Penned in silver marker on the outer side of both his black Nike shoes are Harsh's initials, “L.H.”
“I'm looking at someone with the strength of no one I've known before,” Bowen said.