Arlington, Texas—Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, Susan G. Komen for the Cure founder and CEO, took centerfield at the top of halftime Monday to recognize Cowboys' own ticket office employee Roxanne Martinez.
"I had no idea," said a chocked up Martinez. "I'm blown away."
Martinez, who beat her battle with breast cancer only a year and a half ago, was asked to participate in a special recognition in honor of the NFL's national kickoff to Breast Cancer Awareness Month during the Cowboys' game versus the Chicago Bears. She had no idea that recognition would come from the founder of the organization she is so passionate for.
"Komen really gave me an opportunity to give back to an organization that was helping me through my breast cancer journey," Martinez, now a regular volunteer at Susan G. Komen Breast Center in Fort Worth, told Cowboys' Blue Star magazine. "Now that I'm a survivor, it makes me proud that the Dallas Cowboys are promoting awareness and recognizing survivorship and I also try to do the same."
Click here to read Martinez's full story: /news/article-1/A-Triumph-of-Two-Roxanne-Martinez-Survives-Breast-Cancer/263378de-2f0b-402a-96e8-d1eb30f080ab.
Brinker's surprise presentation to Martinez was only the beginning of a festive halftime honoring Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Martinez was joined on the field by hundreds more survivors, co-survivors and Komen volunteers, including Martinez's husband and 250 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders alumnae. The group, totaling 500, came together to form two human pink awareness ribbons, all while the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders performed a swinging dance number in pink.
Pink, the theme to Monday's game presented by Bank of America, could be spotted throughout the stadium on signs, flags, towels, uniforms and jerseys. Komen kiosks, quizzing game-goers on their breast cancer knowledge, sat in the plazas of the stadium, and public service announcements and other messaging were featured on the stadium's 60-yard videoboard.
All was part of the Dallas Cowboys and Susan G. Komen for the Cure "I Promise" campaign. The campaign, supported by a $1 million donation of Cowboys marketable assets, was first inspired by Brinker's 2010 book Promise Me, detailing her promise to her sister "Suzy"—who died from breast cancer in 1980 and for whom the organization is named—to change the way the world viewed and treated breast cancer. "I Promise" merchandise can be found exclusively on ShopCowboys.com and in Old Navy stores. Five percent of its proceeds goes toward cancer research.
Click here to learn more about the Cowboys' partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the "I Promise" campaign—a campaign that doesn't stop with Breast Cancer Awareness Month's end, but continues year-round: http://secure.dallascowboys.com/community/communitySusanGKomen.cfm.
