National cancer awareness day hits home for ISU's Jamie Pollard

Iowa State football players will wear a yellow ribbon for National Childhood Cancer Awareness Day, which was designated by Congress as Sept. 12. Children who are attending the game as part of awareness day will meet some of the ISU players afterward.

The day hits home for ISU Athletics Director Jamie Pollard,. Pollard's 7-year-old son, James, is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. It's James' second bout with cancer, the first coming when he was 14 months old.

"(It's) very ironic that we decided to do the National Childhood Cancer Awareness promotion only to learn after we decided to do it that James has cancer again," Pollard wrote in an e-mail. "Life is certainly full of its unexpected challenges."

"Beat Cancer" T-shirts in both schools' colors are currently sold with proceeds going toward cancer research. Iowa State Sports Information Director Tom Kroeschell said about 4,000 already have been sold. There will be booths set up outside the stadium for information and donations.

Des Moines TV station KCCI profiled the Pollard family's struggles with cancer. Here's the link:

http://www.kcci.com/video/20790133/index.html