TYLER, Texas (KETK) - "It does scare you, there's a lot of questions you start asking yourself, am I going to beat this, how much longer am I going to be able to coach, what about my children and my grandchildren?"
After learning he had Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Coach Palmer's doctor told him to get ready for the game of his life.
"Doctor Richards said okay, you've got CLL. Here we go."
At first, the cancer was in control.
"When the white blood count got so high, it got out of sight, he said okay we've got to do something now, so let's get to work."
But after three months using a new FDA approved drug, he says things are different than before.
"My players during spring training noticed my energy level quite high, and when your players notice it, that makes you feel good, lot of prayers answered," Coach Palmer said.
A retired school librarian in Tyler has a similar success story using Imbruvica, being part of it's clinical trial before being FDA approved.
"It just paves the way you know, for it to be approved and used by others," Meriam Eakin, with CLL, said. "It's just worked beautifully."
Their doctor says research in cancer treatment is a growing field and says cures for cancer are something to have hope in.
"We're going to see a significant improvement over the next few years in survival and treatment options."
Coach Palmer says the past three months on this new treatment, he's been jogging again and playing golf, and says he's ready for another season at TJC.