The 52-year-old coach of 17 seasons with the Spartans sat out the 2003 season battling multiple myeloma, a cancer of blood plasma that is incurable, but treatable. Some 45,000 in the United States are living with the disease, according to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

"It's a blessing to be out here every day," said Piraro, who is with his team for a three-game series against Hawai'i starting tonight. "I thank God every day that I'm out here. That's not an exaggeration or a folklore. That's a truism. I thank God for my family and giving me the opportunity to do something that I love: working with young men, trying to help them out. It's something I've done all my life."

In the fall of 2002, Piraro experienced pain in his rib cage and lower back. Several tests were negative, until he had a computerized tomography or CT scan that showed a tumor in his ribs.

"Initially, when I was first diagnosed, coaching was the last thing on my mind," he said. "I have a young family still. That obviously was my first consideration and concern. Your mind works kind of funny at that point in time, so coaching wasn't something I thought about 'til September or October of '03."

The blessings soon followed. He had a transplant of his own stem cells to regenerate a new bone marrow. Then he needed the bone marrow transplant. The odds of find matching bone marrow from a family member was one-in-four. With only one sibling, his brother Stuart was found to have the match.

Also, since Piraro resides in the Bay Area it gave him easy access to Stanford Medical Center, which he said offered "cutting edge" treatment.

Still, the doctors offered no guarantees.

"They told me flat out, 'You might not come out of this thing,' ", Piraro said. "So you pray. I was fortunate. I was really fortunate."

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SERIES FACTS • RECORDS: San Jose State (14-12-1 overall, 4-5 WAC); Hawai'i (17-10, 3-3) • WHEN/WHERE: 6:35 tonight, 6:35 p.m. tomorrow, 1:05 p.m. Sunday/Les Murakami Stadium • TICKETS: $6 blue and orange sections; $5 red section adults; $4 65 and older red section; $3 UH students and for ages 4-18 • PARKING: $3 • RADIO: KKEA 1420 AM will broadcast all games live • TV: KFVE (Channel 5) will broadcast Sunday's game

He gets a bone-strengthener infusion monthly, a half-hour process, and gets checkups every two months.

"As of right now, I'm in very good health," he said. "So it's quite a turnaround from where I was. My energy is close to what it was."

He has since relinquished some duties. He had been an assistant athletic director for seven years before the cancer. Even daily responsibilities are delegated to his assistants. (Associate coach Doug Thurman, who was the interim head coach last year, has been with Piraro for nine seasons.)

Still, Piraro, under contract through the 2006 season, said he will decide whether to continue coaching at the end of the season. He is one of the most successful coaches in the nation (550-396-5), leading the Spartans to a share of the WAC title in 2000, the year they went to the College World Series. He said he still wants to coach, but added his wife, JoAnn, son, Jason, 21, and daughter, Jenna, 16, are his priorities.

"This is something I have to evaluate because I make it clear that my family is No. 1," he said. "I have to be around for my children. They're still not ready, yet. As long as I'm healthy and the good Lord wants me here, then I'll continue to do this and see what happens."

Still, he counts his blessings.

"It's amazing out of necessity what you can do," he said. "When your back's against the wall, mentally, you can do a lot of things. That's what I try to teach my players. I tell them you can do a lot of things, if you're mentally strong."