Pat Summitt Diagnosed With Dementia

By - Kris Fletcher

Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Summitt has been diagnosed with early onset dementia, but she still plans to coach this season.

Photo by: Mark Humphrey

Summitt, 59, said she had not felt well for months before finally deciding to go to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for tests back in May.

"There were some mornings I would wake up and think I don't even want to go in," she told the Knoxville News Sentinel. "I feel better now just knowing what I'm dealing with. As far as I'm concerned, it's not going to keep me from living my life. It's not going to keep me from coaching."

According to Mayo Clinic literature, it is an Alzheimer's type disease which slowly causes the destruction of brain cells and leads to a gradual decline in cognitive skills.

Summitt has won 1,071 games, eight national championships and an Olympic gold medal. She's also a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.