Coaches Vs. Cancer Supporting Cancer Patients And Families

While basketball players compete on the court to win games, this weekend teams from across the country took time to support those in a more serious battle.

“It means a lot to me. I lost both of my parents to cancer,” said Porter Moser, University of Oklahoma men’s head basketball coach.

The Coaches vs Cancer Weekend started in 1993. “The American Cancer Society and coaches vs cancer the way they fight for this is relentless,” said Moser.

For coach Porter Moser, the weekend hits home, not only because of the loss of his parents to the disease. “My secondary parents were my college coach and his wife, I played for him for four years and I coached with him for seven, Tony and Kathy Barone, became my second set of parents and they both died of cancer,” said Moser.

“I started volunteering with the American Cancer Society a little over twenty years ago,” said Kari Gossvener.

But last year life as she knew it would completely change. “This past summer I found out that I too had cancer, so I notified Lisa and said, well guess what? It’s come full circle,” said Gossvener.

She found herself sitting in the place that she had helped so many people get through. “Cancer affects everyone, it doesn’t discriminate, and you think, you know, it’s never going to happen to me, but it can happen to anyone,” said Gossvener. 

The survivors got to spend some private time at practice with the team as well as attend a game. Coach Moser had one message for anyone battling the disease.

“We going to beat it, we are beating it. I mean look at how many lives have been saved with all the work that has been done,” said Moser.

The American Cancer Society hosts many other events throughout the year, for more information about those events visit www.cancer.org/about-us/our-partners/coaches-vs-cancer.html.