Most people can go a lifetime without cancer having a direct impact on their lives, but Danielle Scarlett, captain of the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team, isn’t one of them. In the last two years, her grandmother and her mother were both diagnosed with breast cancer.
“It really affected me in the sense that cancer, unfortunately is no longer like a scary word to most people and when you hear about it in your family it get a little more terrifying,” said Scarlett. “It definitely made me rethink things that I’ve done and charities that I’ve worked with.”
Finding out that her mother had breast cancer was extremely hard for Scarlett to hear. She was only 22 years old at the time and the thought of losing her mom was hard to deal with. Her parents had driven up to one of her away games in Ottawa to tell her the news.
“I was hysterical to be honest,” Scarlett said. “It’s actually something really hard to hear because you know the word breast cancer is a very open-ended kind of word. You know you start wondering how bad is it, how long do you have and what kind of treatment do you need.”
Luckily for her and her family, her mom’s cancer was caught early. In fact, it was Scarlett’s mother who found the cancer herself. She was doing a self-examination when she realized something was abnormal. According to Scarlett the doctors were extremely surprised that her mom caught it because the cancer was only the size of a pea. Scarlett’s mom had stage one cancer, which meant that her treatment was dealt with by radiation. Her mom’s early detection of her cancer could have been the difference between not only what stage she was at, but her life.
Her grandmother on the other hand had it a little more severely, with stage three cancer. Due to the age of her grandma, who was entering her 80s, she underwent surgery to remove the cancer instead of trying chemotherapy.
Both women are now in remission, healthy and well. Scarlett’s grandmother has been cancer free for a year and half and her mother will be cancer free for a year in May.
Scarlett’s close personal connection to breast cancer is a big reason that the Stingers women’s hockey team is teaming up with the basketball teams this weekend for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport’s (CIS) 8th annual Shoot for the Cure event. Shoot for the Cure is a fundraiser across the CIS women’s basketball teams that raise money for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
A number of schools in the province make their donations to the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation, including Concordia.
“Getting involved in something like this would be an experience for everybody and a great way to give back,” said Scarlett. “Our team has been super excited and involved and we all just wanted to use what we do everyday [hockey] to raise money and join with the basketball team to be involve in something so great and beyond us.
”As with many CIS schools, other teams are getting involved in Shoot for the Cure. This year the men’s and women’s hockey teams and the men’s basketball team are pitching in.
You can support the cause by attending any of the following events:
Corey Cup, men’s hockey vs. McGill Redmen – Friday, Feb. 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Basketball doubleheader vs. McGill – Saturday, Feb. 7 – 2 p.m.
Women’s hockey vs. McGill – Saturday, Feb. 7 – 2:30 p.m.
Story by Shauna Zilversmit
