New York Giants Host “Crucial Catch Game” on Sunday
As much of America wears pink in honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, the New York Giants will be hosting a "Crucial Catch Game" this Sunday as they welcome the 4-1 Los Angelas Rams. Trust me, there will be a number of important catches to be made by Joe Judge's Big Blue but the focus of this catch will be a little different.
According to the team's website The Giants will have season ticket members and employees, who have been impacted by cancer, participating in the pregame ceremony to serve as flag bearers. In addition, Giants players and coaches will be wearing Crucial Catch themed gear to raise awareness and support cancer prevention efforts."
This is program is a partnership of the National Football League with the American Cancer Society for 13 consecutive years. According to the article NFL teams "are working together to support the fight against cancer through "Crucial Catch: Intercept Cancer." The initiative, which kicked off in Week 4 and continues to be highlighted through Week 6 games, addresses early detection and risk reduction efforts across multiple types of cancers."
The importance of these types of awareness programs especially coming out of the pandemic cannot be underestimated. The website stated that "Crucial Catch encourages people to catch cancer early, when it may be easier to treat. This year, that is a greater challenge than ever. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on screening. At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, some cancer screenings declined by 90%. Through Crucial Catch, the NFL and ACS are allocating resources dedicated to safely restarting cancer screenings in communities with the most need. For many forms of cancer (breast, cervical, colorectal and prostate), the five-year survival rate is above 90% when detected early before it has a chance to spread."
If you don't plan on attending the Giants game this Sunday, you can contact the Capital Region American Cancer Society at (518) 220-6960 for screening locations near you.