Karl treated for clot

DENVER – Nuggets coach George Karl has another blood clot in his right leg as he recovers from radiation and chemotherapy treatment for throat and neck cancer.

Karl’s partner, Kim Van Deraa, wrote on her blog this weekend that the 58-year-old coach was rushed to the hospital Friday with the clot. She said doctors were trying to determine the cause because Karl already is on blood-thinning medication.

Van Deraa also wrote that doctors reinserted a filter into his abdomen. The filter had been removed two weeks ago. The filter prevents the clots from traveling to his heart or lungs. It initially was inserted in March when Karl was first treated for blood clots.

Van Deraa and Karl, who are raising their 5-year-old daughter, Kaci, together, had been writing increasingly upbeat blog posts about Karl’s slow recovery from squamous cell carcinoma.

But the latest post said Karl mentioned his right big toe was hurting Friday and that it felt swollen, so Van Deraa called Karl’s doctor, who set up an ultrasound.

She wrote that “it turned out he has a blood clot in the same right leg so he was admitted to the hospital to break up the clot.”

Karl was diagnosed with cancer late last year and informed his players and the media in February. He began a six-week treatment of radiation and chemotherapy that eventually sidelined him in mid-March.

He had hoped to return to coaching in the playoffs but treatment caused him to lose 25 pounds along with his strength and stamina. His voice is a raspy whisper, his mouth full of sores and his neck tender from radiation.