After losing his mother to lung cancer, Utah Jazz guard Jason Preston made it his mission to raise awareness for lung cancer and early detection.
How influential has your mother been in your life, both as a basketball player and a person?
Quite simply, I would not be who I am — or where I am now — without her. The faith and morals she instilled into me from a young age were so powerful and will always be with me.
Regarding basketball specifically, she always emphasized the importance of watching the game. I’ve always enjoyed playing for hours, but it wasn’t until I mastered watching it that I learned so much more about it. Watching and analyzing allowed me to take aspects from other players, teams, and coaches, and implement them into my own game.
Can you talk a bit about the work you’re doing to raise awareness of lung cancer and honor your mom’s memory?
When I began my NBA career, I felt it was the right time to advocate for lung cancer awareness, a cause close to me. In 2022, with the Clippers, I honored my mother during Lung Cancer Awareness Month by wearing “KD Aunt Pearl” shoes in all games and practices, designed for those lost to lung cancer.
For Lung Cancer Awareness Month 2023, my wife and I partnered with our alma mater, Ohio University (OU), to raise awareness. At the OU men’s basketball home opener on Nov. 8, the team wore warm-up shirts designed by my wife featuring a white ribbon with my mother’s name.
We provided white shoes for the team to wear throughout November. The game also included PSAs from the American Lung Association (ALA) and OU focusing on lung cancer screening and prevention. Later that month, I joined the ALA’s Ambassador Council to honor my mother and raise awareness about lung cancer and secondhand smoke.
Most recently, instead of wedding gifts, my wife Micaylah and I raised funds for the ALA to support their mission of improving lung health. We also have some activites planned for this year’s Lung Cancer Awareness Month!
Do you have any advice for people who are dealing with a lung cancer diagnosis or have a loved one who has been diagnosed?
The two most important pieces of advice I would share are to stay optimistic and to have faith. It can be tough every day going through this battle, but having an optimistic mindset and believing things will get better can help so much. Having faith in God can help the mindset so much, as you can bring your stressors and worries to Him and be assured that ultimately everything happens for a reason and will work out as part of a greater plan.
Do you have any tips for people to lower their risk of developing lung cancer/lung disease or ways people can reduce the severity of a diagnosis?
The most important thing is, of course, to never smoke, or stop smoking. That will greatly lower the risk. Even being around smokers, or in the same room as them, can significantly increase your chances of getting lung cancer.
People don’t always realize the dangers of secondhand smoke. In fact, my mother unfortunately got lung cancer from secondhand smoke. Early detection is very important as well, so I encourage everyone to take the ALA’s “Saved By The Scan” quiz to see if they are eligible for a lung cancer screening.
