A True Hockey Fighter – Help Fight Children’s Cancers

Hockey Mom wants to introduce you all to a real hockey fighter – someone who has battled something so much fiercer than the game played on the ice…

HM is friendly with another hockey family through our many hours spent at the rink. Dad coaches, both sons play and of course Mom drives them back and forth. The youngest son, Andrew, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in December 2004 at the age of 3 1/2. Today, he is almost 7-1/2 years old, recently started second grade and plays hockey at the Mite Level (a heck of a player, I might add!). More importantly, Andrew completed his 3-year chemotherapy treatment this past February. He is in remission and still goes to the doctor monthly to monitor his blood counts...hopefully, those doctor visits become less and less frequent. Andrew is what I call a true warrior and an inspiration to so many people…

As the family hails from Buffalo, Andrew is a Sabres fan and loves Sabres forward Andrew Peters (shown with Andrew in the photo), who calls him occasionally to see how he’s doing. HM of course ribs them a little for being Sabres fans, so Andrew did admit that his other favorite player is the Great 8 – Alex Ovechkin!

All ribbing aside, it is so important that we continue to fight for a cure for kids like Andrew. Although progress is being made, the fight won’t stop until there’s a cure. This disease mainly strikes children but it has impacted adults too, even in the NHL.

As you all know, the Toronto Maple Leaf’s Jason Blake was diagnosed with the disease last year. The NHL has made the fight against cancer one of the league’s largest fundraising initiatives and raises money to fund research efforts and more through Hockey Fights Cancer. Locally, the Washington Capitals make player appearances and raise funds to help sick children at the Children’s National Medical Center and the Children’s Inn at NIH.

If you’d like to help in the efforts for a cure for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, sign up to walk or make a donation to Light the Night.

Light the Night is The Leukemia Society’s annual nationwide evening walk to build awareness of blood cancers, to celebrate and commemorate lives touched by blood cancers and to raise funds for a cure. Funds raised through Light the Night Walk support the work of hundreds of the world’s best and brightest researchers in their search for better therapies and cures for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Each year, teams of friends, families and co-workers gather in cities and towns across America to walk in twilight, holding illuminated candles.

If you’d like to join Team Captain Andrew or make a donation to his Light the Night Team, you can do so here. Thanks to the NHL for continuing the fight against cancer – hockey fans keep on contributing to this vital cause!

Best of luck to Andrew as he leads his team to Light the Night and continues to fight for a cure – we can’t wait to see you battle on the ice this year, Captain!