Scott Maxwell has resumed helping lead the Saugus High School offense while teaching English courses online at the school, according to The Sacramento Bee. He was declared cancer free in January 2025 and returned to coaching after treatment for cancer was followed by a serious neurological complication that left him paralyzed from the stomach down.
A 2024 medical crisis
Doctors found lymphomas in Maxwell’s stomach in 2024, and treatment at UCLA addressed those tumors, The Sacramento Bee reported. Doctors later found rare melanomas on his collarbone, according to the same account. In a November 2024 report, The Santa Clarita Valley Signal also reported that Maxwell had been diagnosed with lymphoma after experiencing continuing stomach pain.
Maxwell subsequently received CAR T-cell treatment, according to The Sacramento Bee. The newspaper reported that his immune system then attacked his nervous system and damaged his spinal cord. He was placed in a medically induced coma and awoke on Sept. 4, 2024, unable to move from the stomach down.
Support during recovery
What is known about CAR T-cell risks and recovery support?
The available federal guidance identifies neurological complications as a recognized risk of CAR T-cell therapy but does not establish a frequency in the cited material. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, approved CAR T-cell immunotherapies carry risks of cytokine release syndrome and neurological toxicities that remain addressed in product labeling. The National Cancer Institute says neurological effects can include speech problems, tremors, delirium and seizures, and that some can be severe or fatal. For Californians adjusting to work after a disabling illness, the California Office of the Attorney General directs readers to the Department of Rehabilitation, which provides vocational training and related employment services.
Maxwell spent about two months in the hospital before returning home, The Sacramento Bee reported. He later attended a Saugus game against Hart, which the Centurions lost. A September 2024 report from KHTS said members of the football program supported Maxwell and his wife, Theresa, during treatment and rehabilitation.
The Saugus football program also organized a fundraiser. The campaign, created by Brooke Rosales for Theresa Rohm, said treatment and other medical and living costs had placed financial pressure on the couple and sought donations for those expenses, according to the fundraiser page.
Back with the Centurions
Maxwell is now working from the sideline as Saugus prepares for league play. The Centurions were 3-1 before their Foothill League opener against Golden Valley, according to The Sacramento Bee; a MaxPreps page also listed recent Saugus game coverage. His return places him back in the offensive coordinator role after cancer treatment and the spinal-cord injury described in the reports.
