The football team’s blowout win against the visiting East Los Angeles Huskies was a sweet victory, but for backup quarterback, Jacob Shaw, playing in the ‘Pink Game’ was a special honor and homage to his grandmother, Deborah Shaw who is a breast cancer survivor.
“Being able to play brings a smile to everyone’s face,” Jacob Shaw said about his family. “They love to watch me play. That time when my grandmother was going through chemo was a dark time for the family, so when we all come together for a game like this, it makes the moment even greater.”
Shaw, however, was not the only player who played in honor of someone special.
Freshman outside linebacker, Lobenduhn Ume, sporting a pink towel and breast cancer ribbons on the heels of his cleats, like Shaw, played in honor of this grandmother. The difference, Ume’s grandmother was not present at the game and is still battling the disease and undergoing treatment.
“I feel blessed to have the chance to be fighting with her,” Ume said. “This game means everything to me.”
Prior to the ‘Pink Game,’ Ume recognized Deborah Shaw as the grandmother of his teammate. She regularly attends games and attends practices on occasion.
It was at this game that Ume discovered Deborah was a breast cancer survivor and shared with her that his grandmother is battling the disease.
Embellished from head to toe in an assortment of pink breast cancer paraphernalia, including pants with the word “Believe” up the left leg, Deborah compassionately told Ume, “Just tell her to do what the doctors say.”
From the sideline of the football field, Deborah smiled and recalled her experience with the disease.
“God was so good to me,” Deborah Shaw said.
Deborah, now 62 years old, was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 55 and battled it for a year and four months before becoming cancer free again. She has remained cancer free for seven years.
“It wasn’t sad,” Shaw said when asked about her treatment journey which included chemotherapy and radiation. “I just did what the doctors told me to do.”
Deborah remembered being strong throughout most of her treatment journey but becoming tired towards the end.
Aside from her own faith, she attributed the love and support of her family as the strength and motivation that kept her spirits high during her bout with cancer.
Deborah urges ladies to be sure to get their mammograms and insists that early detection makes a world of difference.