When they found out their coach’s 51 year old mom had breast cancer, a group of high school baseball players rallied for their beloved leader.
At the Central Valley Christian High School Cavaliers’ first ever Breast Cancer Awareness game, the team honored their coach’s mom Stacey with a hat signed by each of its members, and an announcement that they had raised more than $1,200 for the Kaweah Delta Hospital Foundation’s the Lost Girls Mammogram Fund, which helps girls pay for breast cancer screening.
Read More
The Central Valley Christian High School Cavaliers Baseball Team with Team Coach and His Mom Stacey (center)Mammograms are the best way to screen for breast cancer, and it’s really important that women get screened. “What I’m most concerned about is the women who haven’t been in for a mammogram for two, three, or four years, those women that have never had a mammogram,” says Dr. Connie Lehman, Chief of Breast Imaging Division at Massachusetts General Hospital. “We all agree regular screening mammography saves lives.”
There is a wide consensus that women should start having annual mammograms between ages 45 and 54, and if your older and haven’t had one, it’s time to start screening. “If you are between 50 and 74 and you have not had a mammogram in the last two years, you are overdue,” says Dr. Lehman.
Dr. Connie Lehman, Chief of Breast Imaging Division at Massachusetts General Hospital, on when to get a mammogram
In some cases, mammogram screening should begin even earlier. If you fit into the high-risk category, meaning you have a first-degree relative who has had breast cancer, have the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, or had radiation to the chest area when you were young, Dr. Lehman says you should start yearly mammogram screening as early as age 30.
Hat signed by the members of the Cavaliers baseball players and presented to Stacey at the first annual Breast Cancer Awareness game
According to Stacey, the gesture was characteristic of her son. “He’s always loved baseball and coaching has always been his passion,” Stacey said. “Him pulling something like this off, it doesn’t surprise me. I didn’t expect it at all, but this is how he expresses himself when he’s passionate about something. This is what he does.”
And the star pitcher, Spencer Morris, agreed. “Coach Marshall is one of the most selfless and humble guys that we know,” says Morris. “He wants the best out of each and every one of us. It’s just crazy to see the difference from the past years to this year, and the willingness from players. The desire for them to come out to practice and work hard.”
The Cavaliers lost the game 1-0 to Selma High School, but the game was about a lot more than the score. “Once coach told us that his mom had cancer, it was something that was relatable to all of us,” said Morris. “Because everyone in this community, in this town, even in this country seems to have somebody close to them that has cancer. When we personally found out she had cancer, we wanted to work harder in a sense. We wanted to play for something that was bigger than ourselves.”
“Even though this is just a game, we’re just a bunch of boys out here having fun, it felt like we were doing something important,” Morris said. “Not saying that baseball is not important for our school and for us personally, but we were able to play a role in something greater than ourselves.”
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
