STACY V. HUNTINGTON

I was born and raised in Baldwinsville, New York. I’m from a family of five children: two biological sisters and two brothers adopted from Korea. Throughout my years at CW Baker High School I was an athlete and played many sports. These included volleyball, track and, my favorite, basketball, which I played at SUNY Oswego. That’s where I met, yet already knew, the love of my life, my sweetheart, Al Huntington.

Al and I had been friends in high school and found each other again at college. After we graduated we became husband and wife, and the parents of our beautiful daughter, Molly. Before becoming a Mom I coached the Girls’ Junior Varsity basketball team at Cato High School. For those two years I met a lot of great kids and their families. In the summer I coached at the Pat Summits University of Tennessee Basketball Camp. To me that was like a dream come true.

When Molly was just two years old, and I was thirty-one, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had a mastectomy on my left side, and since I was Stage II, had to have chemo and radiation therapy. While enduring all of this I underwent breast reconstruction. I want to thank God for the love of my husband and the joy of being able to see my daughter’s smile throughout my treatments. My major support system was my family and close friends. Thanks to all of these special people I was able to overcome some rough days.

Three years after my battle with breast cancer my husband surprised me with a full-sized basketball court in our backyard. It was then that my friend Jean and I came up with “Hoops for the Cure.” Next, we invited our friend Andrea to join in on our efforts to raise money for breast cancer research. Andrea’s mother died from breast cancer, and we thought this would be great for her to be a part of our team. She contacted the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research fund and from then on we have been a team. With their help, and that of our close friends, we formed a strong board of volunteers. We are now in our fourth year, and his event seems to get bigger and better every time. I thank “Hoops for the Cure” for helping me cope with hope for my future and that of my daughter.

I am now a six year survivor, and plan on never looking back, but forward to a future without breast cancer. I thank my family, my friends, and The Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund for everything they have done.