FOXBORO — Days out from his first Super Bowl, Patriots defensive coordinator Terrell Williams has already bagged the biggest win of his life.
This month, he beat cancer.
Williams has received a clean bill of health after a four-month battle with prostate cancer, which started with his diagnosis on Sept. 11. The 51-year-old has not traveled for a Patriots game since then, but will fly with the team to the Bay Area on Sunday for Super Bowl LX.
In an interview with the Herald, Williams thanked his care team at Mass General Hospital, where he was treated over the past four months.
“All of the doctors, all of the nurses at Mass General, and everyone that’s taken blood samples, all the people there, they’re so important and good at what they do. I appreciate those guys,” Williams said. “And I appreciate this organization and the people of New England. When I say that, I mean it. I’m just shocked at how kind the people are up here. And it’s been unbelievable.
“Hopefully we can bring a smile to their faces on Sunday.”
During his recovery, Williams frequently visited team headquarters, sat in meetings and stayed in touch with players, who said he was an enduring inspiration this season. His return now means even more.
“It means everything,” Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss said. “He’s a great coach, he’s a great man. He’s been one of my biggest supporters all year.”
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel told players Williams was cancer-free in a team meeting before their divisional-round playoff win over the Texans, days after Williams received the good news himself.
“Man, it was hard to see him go through what he went through, but everything ended up working out. God’s got his hand on him, and he’s blessed to be out of that situation,” Patriots defensive tackle Milton Williams said. “So him coming back, it’s big for our team to continue to play hard for him and play hard for each other.”
Williams originally sought medical attention on Sept. 8, the day after the Patriots lost their season opener to Las Vegas. Williams reported nausea and flu-like symptoms had persisted from the night before when he was up for hours vomiting at home. That day, at the suggestion of Vrabel and head athletic trainer Jim Whalen, Williams visited an urgent care center in Foxboro, where he was first diagnosed with a stomach virus.
During his examination, doctors discovered the cancer. Though, Williams said, they initially believed it was lymphoma.
“It had spread all through my body: up in my collarbone, hips, groin, through my legs. It was all over, and it was super aggressive,” Williams said. “And that’s why they thought it was something else.”
Williams’ initial diagnosis was enough that he and Vrabel agreed he should step away from the team. Results of a biopsy revealed an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Williams then traveled to Boston to meet with his care team at Mass General and discuss a treatment plan, which began almost immediately with a month-long regimen of medications that led into chemotherapy treatments that began in mid-October.
“Like a lot of people, when I hear cancer, I automatically think death. That was just in my head,” Williams said. “And it was like, ‘OK, am I dying? What’s this gonna look like? What’s the treatment gonna look like? Am I gonna be really sick? All these things were running through my head. And how do we navigate this with the team?’
“Everything was going through my head. But the number one thing for me was my health.”
Back in Foxboro, players learned of Williams’ cancer battle, but continued to see him most every week inside the facility. There, he would walk around with a smile and give gifts to defenders who recorded takeaways in the team’s last game.
“I’m a perfectionist, so I try to be perfect in a lot of different things. But with him being around, I just think to myself that I’m extremely blessed,” Patriots defensive captain Harold Landry told the Herald in October. “And I don’t know, it’s just the attitude, everything that he is as a person, it just makes me go about my day in a much more positive light.”
Williams said doctors told him the cancer threatened his life, though his recovery would depend on how his body responded to the treatment plan. Within a few months, it began to clear. By early January, after five rounds of chemotherapy each separated by three weeks, Williams had beaten it.
“We only have a certain number of days on this Earth, and everything’s God-ordained. So for the fact that he’s able to get more and be able to spend more time with us and have a clean bill of health,” Elliss said, “it’s just amazing.”