Some inspiration from Molly McMaster
An uplifting tale of a cancer survivor, hockey enthusiast
After surgery and chemotherapy, she made the decision to educate people, especially younger people, about colorectal cancer
Every once in a while, one comes across an inspiring story.
I recently read about American amateur hockey player Molly McMaster Morgoslepov.
She was born in Wilton, N.Y., on Feb. 19, 1976. In 1999, at 23 years of age, Molly was diagnosed with stage II colon cancer.
Molly is a cancer survivor. After surgery and chemotherapy, she made the decision to educate people, especially younger people, about colorectal cancer.
To raise awareness, she embarked on an in-line skate she called Rolling to Recovery.
She started in Glens Falls, N.Y., and, 3,220 kilometres later, her journey ended in Greeley, Colo. Molly was a graduate of Colorado State University.
Before starting her skate, Molly had met 24-year-old Amanda Sherwood
Roberts, who had also been diagnosed with colon cancer. Amanda died about two years later, but the bond that developed between the two inspired Molly’s lifetime pursuit to educate people.
In memory of Amanda, Molly created a massive 40-foot-long (12 metres), 4-foot (1.2 metres) high, crawl-through-model of the human colon. Molly and her model toured twenty cities nationwide and, through media sources, reached an audience of 2.3 billion. Later, Molly co-founded an organization called The Colon Club.
In 2005, attempting to raise colorectal cancer awareness, the club introduced The Colondar, a calendar featuring young women survivors displaying their surgery scars and stories. That same year, the Colon Club partnered with the United Hockey League (UHL).
Molly was an avid amateur hockey player and, at the time, she was the community relations co-ordinator for the UHL’s Adirondack Frostbite. By suiting up for the Frostbite, she joined a select number of women who have played men’s professional hockey, and an even smaller number who have played a position other than goalie.
In 2006, in co-ordination with league commissioner Richard Brosal, a unique initiative called the UHL Cross-Checks Colon Cancer Project became the UHL’s campaign
for National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
During the month of March that season, each team wore patches on its home jerseys depicting a blue star, the universal symbol for colorectal cancer. In addition, 80,000 Molly McMaster hockey cards were printed. Rather than putting hockey stats on the back of the card, Molly’s colon cancer stats were printed.
Throughout March, Molly signed one-day contracts with all of the 14 teams in the UHL, and then suited up and played the first shift of the game in each city. The campaign was unique and provided a highly visible awareness campaign.
Aside from Molly’s incredible story, I also learned there was a Peterborough connection. Three local players, Chad Cavanagh, Mike D’Alessandro and former Peterborough Pete Briane Thompson, a Millbrook native, played in the UHL in that 2005-2006 season.
While researching, I discovered there were other former Peterborough Petes playing in the UHL at the same time Molly hit the ice. Former Petes first-round pick Preston Mizzi suited up for the Rockford IceHogs and Mark Vilneff played for the Kalamazoo Wings.
Other former Petes playing that season were Mike Ramsay with the Motor City Mechanics, Bill Zalba with the Muskegon Fury and the late Logan Hunter for the Port Huron Flags.
Today, Molly McMaster Morgoslepov is married and has two sons. She has authored a book entitled “One Drop of Rain,” about creating a wave of colon cancer awareness. According to her Facebook profile, she is currently an operating partner at the Albany Ninja Lab and a New York District Associate coachin-chief of off-ice training at USA Hockey.
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in Canada.