This week’s Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Pam Kohl — who has spent years working to fund cancer research while also battling it herself.
Kohl is the director of the Susan G. Komen Metastatic Breast Cancer Research Initiative, which raises funds to develop a program that will help UNC and Duke researchers to work together to find treatment and a cure for metastatic breast cancer.
Specifically, the initiative is looking to raise $1 million to fund two half-million dollar grants that will be announced in October. The initiative is already 90 percent of the way there and has come up with a unique way to get UNC and Duke fans involved.
“We thought what better way to support a collaborative research initiative at Duke and UNC, especially since we won’t be able to be at Cameron Indoor or at the Dean Dome.”
The initiative is called Blues Unites, which is found through the Komen website. Fans can pick either Carolina blue or Duke blue to donate to and the initiative will see which fan base can raise the most money.
But in this case, everyone is working together towards the game goal.
“This year alone in the United States, 44,000 men and women will die from metastatic breast cancer,” said Kohl, who has been living with metastatic breast cancer for the last four years. “For us, research is hope.”
Kohl has managed to raise nearly a million dollars in the last year while living with Stage 4 cancer — all while going through the pandemic.
“When Duke and UNC are willing to do this together, we all win.”
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