American Cancer Society and the National Hockey League Team Up to Stick It to Cancer

American Cancer Society
Friday, 1 February 2002

Saku Koivu, the center and captain for the Montreal Canadiens hockey team was in his prime when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma just before the 2001 hockey season. Much of his comfort has come from Pittsburgh Penguins hockey star Mario Lemieux, who in 1993 was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and has since returned to the ice.

These two players join the estimated 54,000 Americans who face non-Hodgkin's lymphoma each year. That's why today, the American Cancer Society, the nation's leading voluntary health agency, and the National Hockey League announced that they will team up to "stick it" to cancer. The National Hockey League, through its Hockey Fights Cancer program has pledged a gift of $195,000 to the American Cancer Society to fund the "Koivu Lymphoma Research Grant." This grant will fund the lymphoma research currently being conducted by Diana M. Metes, M.D. at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Surgery in Pennsylvania.

"The hockey community has experienced firsthand the fear, the pain, and the loss that cancer can cause," said Executive Director of the NHL Foundation, Bernadette Mansur. "But through it all, our players have learned the benefits: passion, hope and commitment. That's the spirit behind good hockey, and it's the same set of values we share with the American Cancer Society to beat this disease."

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is the sixth most common cancer in men and the fifth most common cancer in women in the country. This year alone an estimated 24,400 Americans are expected to die from this disease.

The NHL will present the Hockey Fights Cancer donation to the American Cancer Society during the skills competition to be held during the NHL All-Star Friday activities, February 1 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

"The American Cancer Society is grateful to the NHL for this generous gift," said the Society's National Chairman of the Board, H. Fred Mickelson. "Thanks to programs such as the NHL's Hockey Fights Cancer, we can continue to make a difference in the lives of those affected by cancer, and hopefully, one day, find a cure."

Hockey Fights Cancer is a joint initiative founded in December 1998 by the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players' Association to raise money and awareness for hockey's most important fight. Hockey Fights Cancer is supported by NHL Member Clubs, NHL Alumni, the NHL Officials' Association, Professional Hockey Trainers and Equipment Managers, corporate marketing partners, broadcast partners and fans throughout North America. To date, more than $4 million has been raised to support cancer research. One of the charity's largest fund-raising initiatives is the annual Hockey Fights Cancer On-Line Charity Auction, which has raised more than $835,000 over the past two years.

The American Cancer Society is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and service.

For more information, or to contact American Cancer Society, see their website at: www.cancer.org