For Jim Calhoun, Fight Against Cancer is Personal Jim Calhoun is always looking for ways to use his position as head coach of the University of Connecticut men’s basketball program to affect society in a positive way. Before he got involved in Coaches vs. Cancer®, Calhoun had already, along with his wife Pat, helped raise millions of dollars for the University of Connecticut Health Center, and even had the cardiology center there named in his honor. Since getting involved with Coaches vs. Cancer, Calhoun, his wife, his team, and his community have raised several more millions of dollars to help the American Cancer Society’s fight against cancer. “I’m proud to have the opportunity to not only get involved myself but to be a role model for my players that you can and should give back,” Calhoun said. “This is obviously something very special.”And to Calhoun, the fight against cancer is more than just a special cause – it’s a personal battle. Just more than three years ago, after he had become an integral part of Coaches vs. Cancer and even sat on the program’s board, Calhoun heard those three dreaded words himself: “You have cancer.” Today, he is cancer-free, after a successful prostectomy to treat prostate cancer. “It did really hit home. The good news is because of early detection and somewhat early intervention … I am cancer free,” he said. “So I know what a scary word (cancer) can be. I have something personal riding on this besides just the fact that it’s a terrific charity and it’s something we should do. Every single step we make is so important.” Calhoun said he appreciates the efforts of fund-raisers for the fight against cancer who came before him, because he believes they helped his personal battle with the disease. That’s why he’s so happy to contribute everything he can to fighting the disease as a coach.
For Maryland Head Coach, the Fight Against Cancer is "Never Enough" Gary Williams is Coaches vs. Cancer "Champion" For Maryland Head Coach, the Fight Against Cancer is "Never Enough". His participation in the American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer® program has helped raise nearly a million dollars since he got involved in 1999. Yet because it's for the fight against cancer, Williams isn't content. "I always feel you can do more," Williams said. "It's like coaching. You always think you can win another game. Nobody's satisfied—we're always looking for ways to increase that amount." Williams joined the Society's Coaches vs. Cancer program to use his high-profile position for good, he said. He has a personal connection to the disease—he lost his mother to cancer - but said he works to defeat cancer because it's a universal problem. "Everyone probably knows someone who has been affected by it," Williams said. Williams' first work with the program was through hosting the 1999 Coaches vs. Cancer Golf Invitational at the Maryland Caves Valley Golf Club. The annual event has raised more than $800,000 to fight cancer, and brings coaches and local communities together in friendly competition for a good cause. Williams has also started an annual tip-off breakfast for Maryland basketball supporters that has raised more than $152,000 since it began four years ago. He uses the event to discuss the outlook for the Terps' season and has local business people purchase tables. His fundraising efforts earned him the 2006 Coaches vs. Cancer Champion Award, the program's highest honor. Williams' top-notch fundraising efforts to fight cancer are icing on the cake to his successful coaching career. Now in his 18th season coaching Maryland basketball, Williams has the third highest number of coaching wins in Atlantic Coast Conference history, having taken his alma mater's team to seven Sweet 16 appearances and clenching the 2002 national championship title, a first for the school. The Coaches vs. Cancer program is crucial not only because it raises money to fight the disease, but also because it increases awareness about preventing cancer, Williams said. He helps educate people about cancer through events like his annual tip-off breakfast, special events at televised games, and spending summers teaching youth the ropes of the game at Coaches vs. Cancer basketball camps. "When a coach gets involved, sometimes people listen a little more," Williams said. "Sometimes when you coach you put the blinders on. You realize there's a whole world out there besides basketball. You can use basketball for a lot of positive things." Williams said the Coaches vs. Cancer program will be a lifetime commitment for him. "There's got to be more money raised until there is a cure," he said. "We're nowhere near where we have to be yet."
On the Rebound Early detection gave Vann Pettaway his win over prostate cancer. Coaches vs. Cancer now gives him a way to tell others about the benefits of screening. By Marc Barnes In 2005, the Alabama A&M Bulldogs lost their first-round matchup in the men's NCAA Division I basketball tournament—the school's first-ever appearance in the prestigious event. But the road there was a victory in itself, particularly for Coach Vann Pettaway. Within an hour and a half after the plane brought him and his team home, Pettaway began the first of 43 daily radiation treatments to treat an aggressive form of prostate cancer. "This was my national championship, overcoming cancer," says Pettaway in that stern, no-nonsense voice shared by many college basketball coaches. He adds that his win over the disease—which he attributes to God, his family and his doctors—was bigger than any NCAA championship. Pettaway's battle actually began a year earlier, when he went in for his annual physical exam. At age 45 and physically fit from running court drills with college basketball players, he expected to fly through this exam as usual. His physician ordered a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test—a simple blood test used as part of early detection screening for prostate cancer. But Pettaway's PSA results were unusually high, so his doctor ordered a biopsy. Those results came back negative, and a follow-up biopsy was scheduled to ensure accuracy. Six weeks later, the second biopsy revealed the cancer. "The biopsy showed that my cancer was an aggressive type, and my doctor recommended surgery," says Pettaway. "The diagnosis was at the end of July [2004] and the surgery was on September 14." Responding to the call Before basketball season began, Pettaway had to break the news to his team. His players were stunned but decided on the spot to dedicate the new season to him, promising to play hard and give their all to Pettaway. At about the same time, a chance phone call led Pettaway to get involved in Coaches vs. Cancer, a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches that empowers basketball coaches to join the fight against cancer. Pettaway was asked to have his team play in a fundraising tournament in Birmingham, scheduled for two months after his surgery. Pettaway had participated in local American Cancer Society fundraisers such as Relay For Life® and area golf tournaments, but nothing on a national stage. "I thought that it was meant to be," he says. "They called to see if I was interested, and I said yes and I told them why, that I had just been diagnosed with cancer." Pettaway dropped a game from his team's schedule to make it happen. The way Pettaway looks at it, who better than a college basketball coach to speak to other men about early detection of prostate cancer, especially since coaches are so often interviewed on television? Still recovering from his surgery but with his characteristic enthusiasm intact, Pettaway and his team made it to the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic event that November—and Pettaway joined the effort to encourage other men about prostate cancer testing. And Pettaway received in return calls and cards from across the country. "They all came from people who had either gone through prostate cancer or were going through it," he says. "I heard a lot of words of encouragement." The team rallies For this normally strong and passionate coach who jumps up and down and cheers on his players, it was a different kind of basketball season. Pettaway's post-surgery recuperation would last throughout the season, and he says he experienced considerable weakness, found it difficult to even blow a whistle and sometimes was unable to attend team practices or make it through an entire game. His assistants, Willie Hayes and Sammy Jackson, took on the bulk of the coaching. "I really couldn't go into a game without going to the bathroom first," says Pettaway, referring to a lack of bladder control. "We had an overtime game, and I had to leave the court. But the players worked hard and did better, so I wouldn't have to holler. They wanted to make things easier for me, and it really brought us closer together. We are a very close-knit group." Then the team's hard work began to pay off after a slow season start. Initially picked to finish fourth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, the Bulldogs began to win, eventually taking both the conference championship and tournament title. This achievement earned Alabama A&M and Coach Pettaway a berth in the 2005 NCAA Division I tournament for the first time in school history. A learning experience And Pettaway ultimately won, as well. After his surgery and radiation treatments, he received word in December 2005 that tests showed no trace of cancer. Two more tests are scheduled, one this summer and again in December, to make sure the surgery and radiation did their jobs. "We feel pretty confident that the treatment has taken care of it," he says. "I have had great support from my family, from my wife and our two daughters, and we are just moving on. I am not letting it hold me back." Pettaway says that having prostate cancer has been a learning experience. An old man's disease? He was just 45 when he was diagnosed. Get it from your relatives? Pettaway isn't aware of any such history in his family. Can't have it without symptoms? Pettaway had no sign until the tests came back positive. "I have learned that this can happen to anybody," he says, "regardless of how old you are, what your race, creed or color is. Cancer can happen to anyone—and the biggest thing for African Americans is that this cancer seems more prevalent in us, and we should take it on ourselves to be checked. We have to. You can't wait for this thing." Pettaway says that he is still dealing with some lingering side effects, but overall, he feels better physically—and feels both relieved and fortunate to be able to help others through Coaches vs. Cancer. "Every opportunity I get I tell young men and older men that they can save their lives by getting checked," he says. "I am still here now because of my physical. As aggressive as my cancer was, if I had not been checked, I would not have made it through the next year." Although last season wasn't as kind to Alabama A&M, losing in the first round of the conference tournament, there will always be a next year. For the Bulldogs-and for Coach Pettaway.
Tom Izzo Coaches vs. Cancer® 2009 Champion Award Honors
Michigan State Basketball Coach Tom Izzo
NCAA Final Four Coach Recognized For Work to Support American Cancer Society ATLANTA – April 2, 2009 – Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo, whose Spartans advanced to the 2009 NCAA Final Four, was the recipient of the Coaches vs. Cancer Champion Award, presented annually to a college coach who has been vigorously engaged in the program’s fundraising, education and promotional initiatives and has demonstrated leadership in the fight to save lives from cancer. Izzo received the Champion Award at the 2009 NABC Guardians of the Game Awards Show on Sunday, April 5 in Detroit – site of this year’s Final Four. Izzo and his wife, Lupe, are actively involved with Coaches vs. Cancer and have raised significant funds to support the American Cancer Society’s efforts to save lives. Their work has been instrumental in promoting cancer awareness throughout Michigan. They have engaged the participation of worksites and MSU basketball fans across the state in a “Wear Your Sneakers to Work Day” fundraising effort to coincide with Coaches vs. Cancer’s annual Suits and Sneakers awareness weekend – a nationwide event in which coaches wear sneakers with their game attire to raise awareness about the importance nutrition and physical activity play in reducing personal cancer risk. In early May, the Izzos will perform in a cabaret-style show of song, dance and inspiration at Michigan State’s Wharton Center for Performing Arts. Izzo Goes to Broadway, celebrating the skill of athletics and the passion of the arts, will benefit the American Cancer Society. “The American Cancer Society, in conjunction with the NABC, is pleased to recognize Coach Izzo for his outstanding work with Coaches vs. Cancer. He is a true leader for the Spartans and for the Coaches vs. Cancer team, and he and his wife demonstrate their commitment to the Society’s lifesaving work with creativity and dedication every chance they get. Coach Izzo is a wonderful ally as we work together to save lives by helping people stay well, helping people get well, finding cures and fighting back,” said Van Velsor Wolf, 2008-09 volunteer chair, American Cancer Society National Board of Directors. Izzo is concluding his 14th year at the Michigan State helm and his 26th as a member of the Spartan coaching staff, where he has earned four national coach of the year citations. His 2000 MSU team claimed the NCAA crown, and with the ’09 Spartans having advanced to the Final Four, this will be Izzo’s fifth team to reach college basketball’s national championship semifinals. The Champion Award was instituted in 1996, with former Missouri coach Norm Stewart receiving the inaugural citation. Since that time, the award has honored head coaches Jim Boeheim (Syracuse); Denny Crum (Louisville); Roy Williams (then at Kansas and now at North Carolina); Riley Wallace (Hawaii); Fran Dunphy (then at Pennsylvania and now at Temple); Gary Williams (Maryland); Mark Few (Gonzaga); Mike Brey (Notre Dame); Bruce Weber (Illinois); and Jim Calhoun (Connecticut). Typographical error http://main.acsevents.org/site/PageServer?pagename=CvC_CoachesProfiles The Coaches vs. Cancer program unites students, alumni, fans and coaches with the American Cancer Society in the fight against cancer. If you are a coach, or if you know of a coach that would like to lend their name to the fight against cancer, click the link below and nominate a 2009 featured coach!
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