As Nancy Blaue stood at the podium while making her speech during the Pink Out girls-boys doubleheader between Montgomery County and Wellsville-Middletown on Dec. 16, she gave some advice to the women sitting in the stands at the W-M gymnasium.

“Get a mammogram,” Blaue said.

Blaue, who lives outside Wellsville, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 after getting her first mammogram at age 41. She said after receiving her diagnosis, she and her husband made sure they found the right doctors and went to all appointments.

“I honestly remembered this as being the most uncertain frightening time through the whole journey that we went through,” Blaue said.

Blaue, a 1993 MCHS graduate, was the guest speaker of the Pink Out basketball doubleheader, which returned for its 12th year and honored all of the people who are fighting cancer. She made her speech between the girls and boys games.

Blaue said she has gotten plenty of support from her friends and family members since her cancer diagnosis six years ago.

“During our journey through cancer, God has surrounded me with family and friends who weren’t afraid to crack a joke,” she said. “I appreciate that so much, most of the time. It made me feel normal during a time when I felt almost like an alien everytime I went for chemo infusions.”

MCHS swept the doubleheader, winning the girls game 54-33 and the boys game 59-30. Both the Wildcats took home Traveling Trophies after both contests.

The Pink Out doubleheader was held at the W-M gymnasium for the first time since 2018. MCHS boys basketball coach Scott Kroeger said he enjoyed seeing a huge amount of fans from both schools sitting at one side of the gymnasium.

“It’s a really cool environment,” Kroeger said. “It’s very unique. They (W-M) always come out and support their kids. It’s always loud and it’s always a cool atmosphere. Even though it’s an early season game, you still get goosebumps before the game because you know the atmosphere is going to be cool.”

Since it first started in 2012, the Pink Out doubleheader has raised thousands of dollars to help promote cancer awareness. This year’s event raised $5,466, which includes money from concessions, rally towels, pom poms, cookies and cotton candy. The check was presented between the girls and boys games.

“Anytime we can come together in any sport and make some money for a great cause and we get to play ball, it’s the best of both worlds,” W-M girls basketball coach Todd Cripe said.

All proceeds go to the Helen Reagan Cancer Fund, which is named in honor of the Montgomery County resident who lost her battle with cancer.

After Blaue’s speech, lights were turned off at the gym as the fans, players and coaches held their pink glow sticks in honor of the people who had cancer.

“We get to rally around some really awesome people who have been through some horrible stuff, including my wife and her family,” Kroeger said. “I lost my father-in-law this summer. So to see something like this where there’s a lot of support, it’s really meaningful in that way to know there are other people who are dealing with that stuff and who have that support from people because I know we leaned on that heavily as a family, so it’s really special.”

Blaue celebrated a birthday on the night of the doubleheader. Before she made her five-minute speech, the whole crowd wished her a happy birthday.

“I’m so glad that I’m here today,” she said. “Since our cancer journey, we watched both of our daughters get married. I tell people that I won the lottery with my son-in-laws. It’s very true. I still look for joy everyday.”