On Thursday night, a Terrapin softball pitcher will step inside the pitcher’s circle at Robert E. Taylor Stadium and throw for two causes.
The first is obvious – a win against Penn State.
The second is less apparent, but equally significant to coach Laura Watten – a win against breast cancer.
For Saturday’s doubleheader against Boston College, the Terps broke from their red and black to don special Under Armour uniforms with pink shirts and socks, a nod to breast cancer awareness. On Thursday, they will team up with the American Cancer Society for the first time to “Strike Out Cancer.” Fans will have the opportunity to pledge a “per strike-out” dollar amount, and the contributions will be donated to the ACS.
It’s something Watten wishes her team could do more of. The reason lies close to her heart.
Ten years ago, her sister-in-law, Rene Watten, had her first mammogram. It was the first year her insurance policy would cover the examination. She didn’t receive good news. Doctors told Rene she had breast cancer.
Rene underwent a battery of medical procedures to treat the cancer. She had a lumpectomy to remove the tumor, then a mastectomy. She underwent radiation therapy, then chemotherapy.
Mammograms became routine. She had one done every three months for two years, then every six months for the next three years. Doctors told her that if she cleared the fifth year with no further signs of cancer, she would be trimmed back to one per year.
For five years, the cancer was gone. But doctors made a discovery in the sixth year.
“They found another lump,” Watten said.
For one of the first times in her life, Watten couldn’t be in Dallas to offer Rene her support and love. She had just taken the Terrapin softball coaching position and was still settling in to her new job.
“Being here, I couldn’t get there because I was pretty much in lockdown,” Laura said. “I had too much going on down here.”
But Watten didn’t have to be with her family to absorb the shock. Watten and her brother, Steve, lived just four houses down from Rene growing up, and the two families’ kids were always playing sports together. Laura says that ever since Steve met Rene in kindergarten, they’ve stayed together.
After her second diagnosis, Rene found another doctor in Louisiana to perform a second mastectomy. Following additional radiation and chemotherapy, she was again declared cancer-free.
“She’s just so strong and she’s got great resilience,” Watten said. “She’s just a super strong woman. If anybody can go through that and get to the other side with positive attitude, it was her.”
Watten said she realized how fortunate she was to lead a healthy life.
“Each day you wake up in the morning and you think you’re too tired in bed, think of the people who are not able to get out of bed,” Watten said.
It’s moments like those that will make Thursday so special to Watten.
“It’s definitely a day to think about those people,” Watten said.
TERP NOTE: Today’s scheduled doubleheader against Penn State was moved to Thursday to accommodate anticipated inclement weather conditions today.
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