October About Breast Cancer For Rebecca Lobo

Rebecca Lobo was queen of the basketball court at UConn when her celebrity expanded beyond lay-ups and rebounds. It was the mid-1990s and Lobo and her mother,  RuthAnn, took center court for a different reason — breast cancer. RuthAnn Lobo was a cancer survivor at the time and the topic had become a very public one in Connecticut with the introduction of the Susan G. Komen CT Race for the Cure, a breast cancer awareness fundraiser that was initially held in Walnut Hill Park. Years later that race moved to Hartford.

But in New Britain, a new Race in the Park was started and the Lobo women remained stalwart supporters, not only participating each year but sharing their celebrity for related fundraisers. The two eventually collaborated on a book, “The Home Team,” dealing with RuthAnn’s battle with breast cancer. The two also founded the RuthAnn and Rebecca Lobo Scholarship, which offers a scholarship to the UConn School of Allied Health for Hispanic students.

Now married and the mother of four, Rebecca Lobo-Rushin continues to be an advocate for breast cancer awareness and research  in the wake of her mother’s death in 2011 from the disease. The former professional basketball player recently took time from her very busy schedule, that includes her work as a reporter and color analyst for ESPN, to talk cancer during Breast Cancer Awareness month and her life as a wife and mom as she Spilled the Beans with Java. Go to: http://cour.at/P8qz3L