Langley, B.C.- Manny Viveiros says he owes his life to hockey in more ways than one.
The former WHL Champion and Coach of the Year is usually the one calling the shots- but it was the Henderson Silver Knight’s medical staff that came through with a massive assist in 2021.
As a result of the pandemic, the team had been conducting routine physicals and blood testing for staff and noticed an unusually high amount of prostate-specific antigen in his blood.
The discovery threw up major red flags and a biopsy would quickly confirm the ground-shattering news- he had prostate cancer.
Viveiros, who was 55 at the time, began his treatment and was preparing for surgery when he was dealt a second blow.
Doctors had discovered he also had colorectal cancer.
“(It was) A huge, huge shock to me,” Viveiros, who hadn’t noticed any symptoms previously, said. “I had to go in and do the same type of operation that I had done before, again within a few months period, which at that time was kind of risky, but something we felt we had to get done right away. So I ended up having to treat two cancers at once.
They threw everything at me, and they said, ‘This is going to be difficult, but you’re going to have to. We can do this, because if we’re going to do it, do it, do the right way, and it beat me up. There’s no question, physically, it really beat me up, and even more so mentally.”
Viveiros was back on the ice with the Silver Knights for development camp the following season.
But while the veteran coach was physically there, mentally, he wasn’t.
The adrenaline he had been running on for months had simply run out and depression gradually began to settle in its place.
“Everything was done, the treatment was done, and I also found out we were heading in the right direction,” Viveiros recalled. “That’s where, you know, my tank was empty, so to speak. Even being able to handle daily chores.”
With the encouragement of his wife, Laurie, Viveiros sought out therapy.
“I said, ‘Listen, I don’t feel right… There are things that I’m having a hard time just getting through the day sometimes,'” Viveiros explained. “And they said, ‘This is perfectly normal. We’re surprised this never happened earlier.’ This is normal for a lot of times when people are going through treatments, you’re going to have a crash after that because you’re spending so much energy just trying to stay positive, try to get healthy again.”
While his sessions brought Viveiros a lot of personal relief, therapy also equipped him with more tools to recognize when other people around him may be struggling- from friends and family to the junior hockey players he works with every day.
It’s a value system he’s proudly emphasized since joining the Vancouver Giants as Head Coach ahead of the 2023-24 WHL season.
“Just showing that you care- I think that’s a big thing,” Viveiros said. “In my experience, a lot of times it’s just that question- asking ‘How are you?’ or, you know, ‘Is there something that we can do? Is there something you want to get off your chest or just talk?’ And I’ve seen that where that’s opened up the door where a person has an opportunity to just get things off their chest.”
Since being declared cancer-free, Viveiros still checks in with his oncologist and his sons have begun screening for similar symptoms- something Viveiros encourages all men to do.
His health journey will always be something that lingers in the back of his mind, but these days, it’s easier to focus on the good- from cherished moments with family to heated battles on the ice as the Giants push for a berth in the 2025 WHL Playoffs.
“I love it,” he emphasized. “I enjoy going to practice and getting to enjoy the challenge. There was a time where I just couldn’t even go to the rink and you went there, you did your job, and you kind of put on that facade, as far as ‘everything is okay,’ and then when I left, it wasn’t. The rink was always a home away from home, so to speak, one of the places where you feel the most comfortable. That fire’s back again.
I’ve been fortunate enough that we, the doctors, firmly believe that we beat this. We were lucky enough to catch it early enough, and I’m back. As far as physically 100% I feel as good as I ever did, even before cancer, from the the mental health part of it too. It’s, it’s the first time in a long, long time where I feel really, you know, how I was before pre-cancer.”
