When Pembroke boys’ basketball head coach Mike Donnell was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in April, it was a shock to him and the community.

Like a team, the people around him rallied in support. About seven months later, Donnell was declared cancer-free.

“It starts with my coaching staff, they’ve been absolutely fantastic,” Donnell said. “The kids, and not just the kids, but the students in the school, the faculty, my peers, the other teachers, everyone in the community, everyone has been so supportive of me, and kind words towards me, and prayers and thoughts, and it takes a family, it did. It takes a village, and my village was big.”

The Monitor wrote about his life-threatening diagnosis in July, and even though his prognosis was positive from the outset, the shadow of cancer loomed over him and the future of Pembroke basketball.

Throughout the process, Mike “The Mayor” Donnell remained open about his condition and advocated for others to receive regular colonoscopies. The community rallied behind him, his desk was filled with dozens of letters, and the out-pour of support he received showed how deeply he had connected and impacted students and faculty within Pembroke High School.

“If you are 40 years old or older, male or female, if you feel like you’re in the best shape of your life, call your doctor and say that you want to have a colonoscopy. You know, there’s too many people that don’t do this procedure, and those are the ones that have bad news,” said Donnell. “In the end, nobody wants to hear they have cancer. But if you catch colon cancer early, you have a 90% chance of or better of living to see your kids marry, for you to have grandchildren, to be able to enjoy retirement.”

While undergoing chemotherapy, Donnell decidedly doubled down on his role as a coach and educator, in part to get his mind off the maelstrom of dealing with cancer and its effects. However, everyone around him emphasized that they wanted him to take care of himself and not go into it alone.

Since then, Donnell underwent countless days, weeks and months of chemotherapy, all while showing up to the gym over the summer and in the fall as much as he could to prepare his basketball team for the 2024-25 season.

“Eight days after I underwent a huge surgery, eight days from that surgery, I was back in the gym and back at school full time. If I needed to go home early, I would, but it was important for me to get back and to feel like, this is a weird word, but just wanting to be normal. I just wanted to be normal, you know?” Donnell said. “I just wanted to be with my kids. I wanted to enjoy what I was doing, even though I was sick as a dog.”

The Pembroke boys’ basketball has weathered tough competition this season and is near the top of the division with five wins and one defeat. But this success is not isolated – the Spartan boys have made it to the final four the past two years and have a 40-7 record since the start of the 2022-23 season. Donnell has been their leader, mentor and coach through it all.

“I had just so much support and comfort, that I was able to work through this, and my athletes have responded to me. They care an awful lot about me. They were always asking me about how I was feeling. Their care and concern, and I think, in lieu of everything that happened, we have become a closer unit. We’ve become a closer group. And we’re just very, very, very happy in the place we’re in,” he said.

The team is currently third in the D-II standings and recently won the Capital Classic Holiday basketball tournament against local rivals. Donnell, his coaching staff, and the boys have one goal in mind—winning the state championship.

“I’m feeling better literally every single day. I’m getting more energy at home. I’m getting more energy on the basketball court. I’m yelling more at the kids in practice, and they’ve noticed it right away, too. And when I’ll yell at them, they’ll say, ‘Hey, Coach, you’re feeling better.’”
 

Alexander Rapp can be reached at arapp@cmonitor.com