Fall 2014, I was scrolling through Facebook, happened to notice a post by University of Dayton Women's Basketball. It included a photo of the team at the Making Strides Breast Cancer Walk in downtown Dayton. They were wearing long sleeve, black shirts with DAYTON in pink. I posted a comment asking where I could order one. I think I got a message from the secretary of the Athletic Office. I ended up calling her, and in the course of the conversation, I told her about Melissa. By the end of the conversation, she asked if I would come talk to the team about Melissa's story.
Jim Jabir was the head coach at the time, and Shauna Green was one of his assistants. I went to their practice a couple of days later, and talked to the team and the coaches. After sharing her story and some breast cancer information, we handed out the FORT bracelets.
Winter, 2016, Shauna was at a game scouting. I thought she looked familiar, so I asked if she was the new coach at UD. When I told her that I talked to the team about breast cancer, she remembered. Asked if I would talk to the team again before the Pink Game.
Each time I shared Melissa's story, I gained a little confidence.
I share her story because she was an athlete. And healthy. And young. Close to their age.
It is so important for young women to understand the importance of knowing your family history (breast, ovarian, prostate and pancreatic cancer are all related). It's important to let your doctor know your family history. We didn't know at the time, but Melissa carried the BRCA2 gene. Before she was diagnosed, we knew nothing about the BRCA gene. That breast cancer doesn't just come from the mother's side.
Testing positive for the BRCA gene makes you high risk for those cancers. Knowledge is power. However, women (and men) are diagnosed with cancer even if they are not high risk. But knowing you are high risk can help in detecting cancer earlier. Early detection SAVES LIVES.I shared her story with the UD Women's team three times.
Shauna left UD in 2022 to take the head coach job at Illinois. She contacted me before the Pink Game in January and asked if I would talk to her team that year.
Last year I talked to UD women's team again (under Tamika Williams-Jeter, who Melissa played against in high school. Tamika went CJ, then played basketball for UConn).
Shauna's assistant coach, Ryan Genslar (who happened to be a Springboro neighbor of Nick), got the head coaching job for Women's Basketball at Akron. He invited me to talk to his team before the Pink Game this year.
I talked to Maddy about sharing Melissa's story with the ND team before their Pink Game. The week before the game, Maddy messaged me, asking if we'd like to come to practice and share Melissa's story.
And next week, we are visiting Ohio University for their Pink Game. Chelsea Welch, who played for Fairmont, is an assistant coach there. Look forward to visiting some of Melissa's old haunts.
I hope sharing her story helps. I know how much it helps us. Helping is healing. Sharing keeps her alive for us, and helps us never forget the stories.
We broke some records for basketball watching last week...started with UD men's game with Ed and Lynn last Friday. Saturday, we drove to ND, game Sunday, Came home Monday just in time for Fairmont girls game, boys game Tuesday, girls game Wednesday. Then on to Louisville for ND game. Friday, left for Akron, game on Saturday, then home. Sunday to Illinois for their Pink Game! Got home Monday, Donny went to UD game last night. Let's see...that's 8 games for me, 9 for Donny! Can't get enough.
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