Grizzlies and Families Help Fight Breast Cancer
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Grizzlies players are used to fighting battles on the court. This weekend, their wives will be taking part in a battle of their own.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and this Saturday marks the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Memphis. Several wives of Grizzlies players will be participating in the 5K run/walk, including Jennifer Miller, Mike Miller’s wife. Her participation is in large part in support of her grandmother, who underwent a mastectomy after contracting breast cancer.
“Almost everyone has been touched by someone in their life who’s had breast cancer. I thought this was a way I could help raise money and awareness for people who maybe don’t have that awareness. I just want to support the cause,” she said.
The cause requires all the support it can get. The statistics in regard to breast cancer are sobering. It is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women today (after lung cancer) and is the most common cancer among women, excluding nonmelanoma skin cancers.
The American Cancer Society estimates that over 200,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. The chance of developing invasive breast cancer during a woman's lifetime is approximately 1 in 7. It is also estimated that over 40,000 women will die from breast cancer in the United States this year.
Breast cancer hits especially close to home for one Grizzlies player, as Bobby Jackson’s mother Sarah passed away from the disease in 2002. As a result, he established The Bobby Jackson Foundation, a community-based organization created in honor of Sarah and dedicated to eradicating breast cancer through education, research, and treatment programs.
“I know it’s something that my mom wanted me to do, try to raise awareness and try to raise money for the cause. It’s something I think I should do,” said Jackson. “There are a lot of great people that you don’t know who are affected by the disease. For me, having three little girls, I know it’s hereditary and I know it runs in my family, so that’s why I want to take this stance, raise awareness, fight the cause and just get everybody on the same page. This is no game, this is something serious.”
The Grizzlies organization has also supported the cause. The first preseason home game on October 12 was Race for the Cure night. Breast cancer survivors and other Race for the Cure supporters were invited to the game and recognized during a timeout, and throughout the game the Race for the Cure was promoted heavily. At the race itself on Saturday at 8:00 a.m., the Grizzlies will have dance team members, staff and the Street Team attend the race. The team also provided a number of giveaway items for the race participants.
For more information on breast cancer, and on Saturday’s Race for the Cure, you can visit these websites:
http://www.komen.org/intradoc-cgi/idc_cgi_isapi.dll?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=298
http://www.raceforthecurememphis.org/