State College field hockey team rallies around former swimmer’s cancer fight. Here’s how to help
Former State College swimmer Sarah Finton received some tough news in August, after which players and coaching staff from the team quickly sprung into action to help.
Finton was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia. It’s a treatable form of cancer of the bone marrow where promyelocytes (immature white blood cells) have an overgrowth in the bone marrow, leading to a shortage of normal white blood cells and red blood cells and platelets in the body. State College’s field hockey team is supporting the 2019 graduate by hosting a virtual 5K throughout October to raise money to assist in her treatment, an effort that kicked off Oct. 6 with the annual Stick it to Cancer game.
“More than anything — we need your love and support,” her father Chris Finton wrote in a blog. “We are grateful to have an army of supportive family, friends, and medical professionals. (Sarah’s mom) Leslie’s connections at MNMC, along with her stubbornness and diligence have literally saved Sarah’s life. Left unaddressed, this condition would have put Sarah’s body into a medical crisis. We are addressing this early, having only recently observed fibroblasts in her blood. Rest assured, Sarah is a warrior and will defeat this.”
Sarah Finton is studying at Colgate University where she is a molecular biology major and is looking forward to going to medical school. She hopes to become an oncologist, treating other people who have cancer. She’s also a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and is an avid runner.
While going on long runs around the campus and around Fenway Park this summer during an internship with an oncology surgeon, she felt a nagging pain in her hip. That led her to receive two MRIs, follow-up blood work and a bone marrow biopsy, which led to her diagnosis.
APL is treated with ATRA, a type of Vitamin A, to aid the chromosomal abnormality, followed by the administration of an IV-administered therapy of arsenic trioxide. APL has a good prognosis, with survival rates up to 90% after treatment. If a person is treated with ATRA, it raises their survival rate significantly.
The senior captains of the team, Phoebe Herlocher, Leah Moyer and Ada Hendrickson, have all been invested in the fight against cancer and aiding a former player.
“It’s incredibly important that we all give back to our community,” Herlocher said. “Also with COVID, we are so lucky to be playing. It’s such as blessing.”
For the past two years, proceeds from the Stick It To Cancer game have gone toward fighting breast cancer. This year, it has shifted to APL due to Finton’s diagnosis.
“Every year we have brought in the personal connection,” Moyer said. “Last year was all about breast cancer survivors, including a mom from last year’s team. We try to schedule it against Mifflin County because of our proximity and how much we know each other on both teams. We know they will do their part in raising awareness to fight cancer as well.”
They also look forward to the game because of the different uniforms that they wear. The uniforms have traditionally been pink to signify breast cancer patients and survivors, as the first Stick it to Cancer game in October 2019 supported a field hockey family that was affected by breast cancer.
In the first year of the fundraiser, State College raised over $1,440 for the PA Breast Cancer Coalition (PABCC). The event featured an online store to aid with the “pink out” of the stands — fans, family and others involved with the program wore pink as well.
Last year, State College field hockey’s Stick it to Cancer Pink Pumpkin Virtual 5K raised $4,450 for the PABCC. Donations came from all around the country to support the event.
“We all look forward to it, especially with the white with pink jerseys we only wear for this premier game,” Hendrickson said.
All of the proceeds from the Stick it to Cancer game and T-shirts will go toward aiding Sarah Finton in her fight against cancer. Register to run, jog or walk the 5K through Oct. 31.
This story was originally published October 13, 2021 at 11:26 AM.
