The Diablo Valley College Viking lacrosse team’s November 23 game will be a benefit for the American Cancer Society, targeting Ewing’s Sarcoma, a cancerous bone tumor.
According to Terry Armstrong, lacrosse club advisor, the club has taken a leadership role in helping fellow athlete Lauren McCullough, an All-American swimmer at DVC, to promote awareness of this form of cancer, which usually develops in teenagers. McCullough, who lives in Elk Grove, beat the disease in its first bout, and is now fighting her second bout of the disease, which was diagnosed after she broke a rib at the state swim meet last year. She was, at one point, given no more than three months to live, but her condition has now been ‘upgraded’ to terminal, with no time limitation.
The game, set for 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23 at the DVC Viking Field, will pit DVC against Santa Rosa Junior College. While admission usually is free for Viking lacrosse games, admission donations will be collected directly by the American Cancer Society. Recommended donations are $5 general and $2 for students. The club, of course, is hoping for a very large turnout.
Viking lacrosse is working with the DVC Inter-Club Council and the DVC Associated Students on this benefit. Other campus groups have joined the effort as well. The Music Industry Club will perform the national anthem and provide a halftime show, and the Film club may document the event. McCullough will speak to the crowd at a pre-game ceremony.
McCullough writes a blog
(http://thenotdyinggirl.com/) to keep everyone up on her activities. She wants as
many followers as possible, so please log in, read and “follow” her story. In it McCullough
wrote, “I could not be happier with the support system that I have at DVC. The school
is behind me in my fight that seems to be one that I cannot win, but they are still
there for me. They know that I am doing my best to keep healthy (in my terms), to
keep fighting and hoping for a miracle. I am no loser, so giving up is never an option,
no matter what.”
For more information about the game, contact Armstrong at 925-969-2150.