The Georgia Cancer Center has teamed up with Augusta University Athletics to garner support for its cancer research.
Wednesday afternoon, Ryan Erlacher, AU’s director of athletics, joined Dr. Balveen Kaur, the Cancer Center’s associate director of research, at the Forest Hills Golf Club to announce the official launching of the “Here to Win” campaign.
The Cancer Center and AU have collaborated with Augusta marketing firm Wier/Stewart to coordinate a robust outreach initiative for ongoing research efforts.
“The ‘Here to Win’ campaign displays how Georgia Cancer Center laboratory scientists are passionate and dedicated about finding new treatment options for various forms of cancer and new ways to detect and identify cancer in early stages,” said Erlacher. “’Here to Win’ highlights the passion AU student athletes and coaches have for their respective programs, with their commitment to being champions on the playing surface, in the community and in the classroom.”
Jaguar Athletics has partnered with the Cancer Center before to raise awareness on both the disease and university research on it, via efforts such as AU’s Cancer Awareness games. The “Here to Win” campaign developed from further discussions on how to enhance those outreach endeavors, Erlacher said.
Wier/Stewart has helped build branding for the project. Student athletes will wear warm-up jerseys with the Here to Win logo, swag and other promotional merchandise will be available at games and events, as will photo booths for Jaguar fans and students to pictures and show their support for cancer awareness on social media. Student athletes will also be out in the community wearing the promotional material.
“Any opportunity we get for our student athletes, our coaches and our staff to help create awareness on how we can battle cancer, we’re going to do it,” said Erlacher.
The campaign is designed to support, complement and inform the public about the Cancer Center’s research projects and its initiatives to educate disadvantaged populations who could especially benefit from innovative treatments, means of diagnosis and preventative measures, notes Dr. Kaur.
“Having the diagnosis of a cancer is very tough for everybody, but for some of these patients, it’s a choice of buying their chemotherapy drug or milk for their children,” said Kaur, adding that many patients from underserved communities are often afraid to tell their physicians about financial troubles hindering their treatment — an issue referred to as “financial toxicity.”
“There are programs to help this patient population, but an early identification of people who are at risk of this financial toxicity as a consequence of their diagnosis is very important,” she said.
Kaur also expressed her belief that the partnership will help raise awareness among the student population as well, and that the competitive tendencies of athletes will contribute to a zeal for understanding how health plays a part in both cancer treatment and prevention.
“I think the power of Augusta University is that our outreach is increased by each and every student from where they come from,” she said. “By educating these students, we can take this message further out into the community, telling them about all the amazing work that is being done right here in Georgia Cancer Center… and the opportunities available to them.”
Je’Bria Fullwood, a junior student athlete in AU’s women’s basketball team, echoes the sentiment.
“I feel like me personally, it’s just bringing awareness all together to like the importance of health,” said Fullwood, who is currently participating in research on food insecurity among AU students on campus. “I think food and the things that we put into our body play a big role in how our body responds to things such as cancer.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
