Members of the Jenks High School basketball team recently rallied to support one of its own when the team hosted its annual one-day scrimmage featuring four top-ranked teams. The event raised funds for Bev LiSooey and supported cancer awareness and education.
LiSooey is being treated for breast cancer. Just a year ago, her son Sean was playing in the same scrimmage and beginning his senior year as a starter for the Jenks basketball team. At the time, she was unaware she would be diagnosed with cancer within months.
The scrimmage was held in the Frank Herald Gym at Jenks High School and sponsored by Cancer Treatment Centers of America. The four high school varsity basketball teams competing were Jenks, Union, Pawnee and Verdigris. Jenks is ranked #2 in the state according to the Tulsa World and Union is ranked #5 in Class 6A. Verdigris is ranked #1 in Class 3A and Pawnee is ranked #1 in Class 2A.
The scrimmage featured an early season look at two nationally ranked basketball recruits, Rotnei Clarke and Keiton Page. Page from Pawnee is slated to attend Oklahoma State University on a basketball scholarship and Clarke of Verdigris is being recruited regionally and nationally. Jenks featured big man Vince Boncaldo, named Player to Watch by the Tulsa World, and guard Bryson Pope. Antonio Ross was on the floor for Union.
“Cancer Treatment Centers of America was thrilled to be a part of this hometown basketball tradition,” says Eric Magnussen marketing director with Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Tulsa. “Team spirit is one of our core values. Our innovative team of professionals work to fight cancer like no one else to empower patients to fight and win their personal battle against this disease.”
LiSooey, a media assistant at Jenks Southeast Elementary, also has a daughter who is a cheerleader for the Jenks High School cheerleading squad. Funds raised each year during the annual scrimmage go to offset medical expenses for the designated scrimmage beneficiary and raise awareness about the early warning signs of cancer.
Founded in 1988, Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) provides a comprehensive, patient-centered treatment model that fully integrates traditional, state-of-the-art medical treatments with scientifically supported complementary and alternative therapies such as nutrition, naturopathy, psychological counseling, physical therapy and spiritual support to meet the special, whole-person needs of advanced-stage cancer patients. With a network of cancer treatment hospitals and community oncology programs in Illinois, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Washington, CTCA encourages patients and their families to participate in treatment decision with its Patient Empowerment Medicine model.
