"It's time that we remove the word "cancer" or any of its variations from the sports lexicon.

I'm as guilty as anybody else, applying it a little too liberally when looking to succinctly describe a toxic environment within a team's locker room that spreads uncontrollably, destroying all in its wake. But the juvenile back-and-forth between the Pistons' Charlie Villanueva and Boston's Kevin Garnett last week as to precisely how Garnett used the word in verbally trashing Villanueva is a clear sign that enough is enough.

Villanueva insists Garnett called him a "cancer patient." The accusation immediately triggered national outrage against the Celtic.

Garnett responded that he called him "cancerous" to his team and the NBA collectively. He issued a statement through the Celtics that he would never trivialize such a serious disease, but conversely that's exactly what we all have done when applying it to a situation in sports.

It's like using a war connotation when talking about a football game. It vividly captures a certain image, but the reference minimizes the actual consequences of warfare that have absolutely nothing to do with 300-pounders popping each other at the line of scrimmage.

Villanueva is understandably sensitive. He has suffered from a rare skin disease called alopecia universalis, an autoimmune disorder that results in hair loss. Losing one's hair is one of the common side effects of chemotherapy.

Villanueva has had his disease since childhood and was often the object of mockery and bullying because he looked different. That he has succeeded in such a high-profile profession certainly serves as an inspiration for other young people afflicted with the ailment.

But Villanueva didn't make the situation better when he tweeted his account of what happened several hours after it occurred. If he had a problem with what Garnett said, why didn't he immediately confront him on the floor after the incident?"