Williams raises money to ?ght cancer

When Roy Williams was told he might have cancer, he said his world was turned upside down.

“It was a wild time in the Williams family for about 24 days,” said Williams, head UNC men’s basketball coach.

“I was the biggest dadgum pansy you’ve ever seen. The surgery scared the dickens out of me,” he said.

Williams spoke of his cancer scare at the eighth annual Roy Williams’ Fast Break Against Cancer event on Friday, a breakfast fundraiser that raises money for the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The fundraiser began when Williams became head coach, and has since raised more than $1.2 million.

Williams said this year’s event was especially important, as he recently had a tumor removed from one kidney and a biopsy performed on a tumor on the other kidney. Both were non-cancerous.

Williams joked that he’s been scolded for faking a cancer scare to get more people to attend the breakfast, and was introduced by longtime UNC sports announcer Woody Durham as “the healthy Roy Williams.”

“You have so many unusual thoughts; you have so many thoughts that you can’t stop,” Williams said.

“But I wanted to continue seeing my grandsons — there’s no question that was the biggest thing, and I was scared to death — I wanted to continue to coach and I wanted to continue to do things so we can raise money … to give people a better chance of fighting this.”

Debbie Dibbert, director of external affairs for the cancer center, said the center sold 415 tickets at $100 each, drawing the largest crowd since the first fundraiser was held seven years ago.

“This is the first year we’ve reached a sellout,” Dibbert said. “So there’s a tremendous amount of energy and excitement.”

Several items were auctioned by Durham including an autographed replica of Williams’ 2007 Hall of Fame jersey and the opportunity to sit on the bench at a UNC basketball game.

George Karl, head coach of the Denver Nuggets NBA basketball team and former UNC guard, also spoke at the event, sharing his experiences battling prostate and neck cancer.

“From my standpoint over the last couple years, I’m amazed at how big the cancer world is,” Karl said.

“My belief is there has to be a stronger commitment to cures and wiping out cancer.”

He said that the Lineberger Cancer Center is an incredible gift to the local community, and praised the work of the doctors.

The attendees also heard from Williams’ family friend Ted Seagroves, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March, and his surgeon, Dr. H.J. Kim, who is an associate professor of surgical oncology at Lineberger.

Karl concluded by comparing the fight against cancer with the strategy of a basketball team.

“Please stay involved, stay engaged, stay committed because we can find a cure for cancer,” he said.

Contact the desk editor at

university@dailytarheel.com.