The Power of Positivity. The Power of Hope.

By Kaitlin Busch

Pay it forward—a concept many of us are familiar with, but few accomplish. For University of Pittsburgh Defensive Coordinator Randy Bates, paying it forward means the opportunity to save lives.

Pitt Football Head Coach Pat Narduzzi requires his staff members to get a yearly physical before the start of spring camp, which came as a surprise to Randy. “In my 39-year career, I have never coached anywhere where we had to do that,” he reflected. “It was a blessing I went down to see our team physician [at the time], Dr. Mares.”

Dr. Aaron Mares, now the Pittsburgh Steelers team physician, found a small lump on the right side of Randy’s throat in the spring of 2018—multiple tests followed in the coming months, including biopsies. “Sitting there for the second one, I had a pretty good idea something was probably wrong. And then a couple of days later, I’m sitting in Dr. Ferris’ office, and I have cancer,” Randy said. “I’m not sure I heard another thing after he said that. The first thing that came to mind was, ‘Will I survive?’”