Even though the 2017 national championship banner won't be revealed for 13 more days, North Carolina supporters had the Smith Center abuzz Monday morning.
The 13th annual Roy Williams' Fast Break Against Cancer breakfast, which consisted of a seated breakfast and a silent auction of a hodgepodge of unique Tar Heel merchandise, took place on the floor of the Smith Center and raised thousands of dollars for the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
All proceeds — which were drawn from the $100 general admission ticket and money collected from the auctioned items — supported cancer research, treatment and outreach programs at the cancer center. Since its conception, the event has raised more than $2.3 million to aid the effort to cure cancer.
This year, UNC play-by-play announcer Jones Angell emceed the program. Williams addressed the crowd before the breakfast and throughout the auction.
“This event is something that I’ve grown to really love,” Williams said. “I think the biggest thing is the money that you raise, the money that you give, the money that you spend in the auction goes directly to our Lineberger Center, here in Chapel Hill.”
The keynote speaker for the program was current North Carolina superior court judge Carl Fox, a blood cancer survivor.
“(I had) myelodysplastic syndrome, where your cells don’t mature,” Fox said. “So, you effectively don’t have any red cells, any white cells, any neutral cells, or any platelets.”
During his battle, Fox needed to locate a bone marrow match in order to have a chance to save his life. Luckily, Fox eventually found the match he was looking for.
“I got those cells, and I didn’t know whether they’d work or not,” Fox said. “I saw a little kid, 14-years-old who had them, and it took four tries for them to match and have that work. I have a friend right now who’s going through his second try, but mine worked the very first try.”
