This year’s Cheltenham Lady Panthers Alumni ‘Coaches vs. Cancer’ Basketball Game was more than just an opportunity to reunite players from the program’s storied past for a spirited contest. It also provided a platform to honor Yolanda Roberts, a 10-year thyroid cancer survivor.
At halftime of Saturday’s contest, Misha Horsey (’07), who organized the event, presented a plaque designating Roberts the recipient of the Cheltenham Lady Panthers Alumnae Courage Award in recognition of her contribution in the fight against cancer.
Prior to being diagnosed with cancer, Roberts, the mother of four children and grandmother of five, had Trigeminal Neuralgia, also known as Tic Douloureaux (suicide disease) for over 20 years. While under the care of her neuro-maxi facial surgeon, she asked her doctor about a lump on her neck. In 2006, Roberts was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and her surgeons performed a total thyroidectomy. Following the surgery, Roberts was admitted to the hospital for confined radiation.