METAIRIE, La. -- New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees said he texted LSU offensive coordinator Cam Cameron on Monday to offer his support after hearing that Cameron was recovering from prostate cancer.

Cameron was Brees' offensive coordinator during his early years with the San Diego Chargers -- which Brees described as the "real growth process time" in his career, during which he was benched three times.

"He's a guy that's had tremendous impact on my career, and obviously that's a serious deal and I hope he's OK and he's made it through it. My thoughts are with him and his family," Brees said.

Cameron revealed Friday that he had been treated for prostate cancer this summer and recently received a clean bill of health.

"He taught me a lot," Brees said. "There's still things that he said to me during those years that ring inside my mind at different times, different coaching points or just lessons learned through being in different situations with him. It wasn't always smiles and laughs -- we had plenty of tough heart-to-heart conversations, because that was the real kind of growth process time in my career. I was benched three times in that time frame and (that is) another reason why (former Chargers head coach) Marty Schottenheimer, my relationship is so strong with him.

"You go through some of those tough times and you really grow as a person and a player. It was because of men like those two guys and Brian Schottenheimer's in that group, (current Saints offensive coordinator) Pete Carmichael's in that group. There's quite a few that were there during that time that I still stay in touch with or I am around a lot and really care for."