Many golf fans are pulling for Phil Mickelson at this week’s U.S. Open, as his wife, Amy, struggles with breast cancer.

Famed retired NFL coach Don Shula knows how hard it is to focus on your sports career under these trying circumstances. His late wife, Dorothy, died from the disease in 1991, despite a pilgrimage the Shulas took to Medjugorge in hopes of obtaining a miracle of healing there.

Read about Shula’s experiences and his deep empathy for what the Mickelsons are enduring, in this article published today by the South Florida Sun Sentinel. 

“I’m rooting for Phil,” he said. “I’m sure a lot of people are right now.”

The one in eight women who will have breast cancer surely are, he was told.

“I certainly know what he’s going through with his wife now,” he said. “They could use some hope. That’s what you look for in these situations. I know it’s what Dorothy and I did.”