Generosity of Predators inspires cancer survivor

NASHVILLE -- Sometimes the hardest circumstances in life can be transformed into something beautiful.
For Laurie Scott and her daughter Ashely Lance, that beauty came in a way they never expected.

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Lance was living a normal life, a 12-year-old who loved playing sports and hanging out with her friends. She began to experience back pain that wouldn't go away.
"She was a three-sport kid. She was playing volleyball, basketball and soccer," Scott said. "She just kept saying her back hurt. 'Mom, my shoulder, my back is bothering me.' And we kept going back and forth to the doctor. It was right before Christmas in 2006. And we kept going to the doctor and he was like, 'Oh, it's probably a backpack.'
"And they told us 10 different things before the pediatrician finally went, 'Let's rule out the bad stuff. Let's send her for an MRI and just see what happens.'"
What happened wasn't just bad, it was any parent's worst nightmare. Lance had cancer, a type of lymphoma that spread all over her body.
"Just shock and devastation" said Scott, who since last season, has been the vice president of human resources for the Nashville Predators. "It's something as a parent you can never prepare yourself to hear those words."
Lance had stage 3 cancer when she went in for treatment. She spent nine months, on and off, at Monroe Carrel Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville. Within four months, she was in remission.

Helping Lance get through that horrible time in the hospital were visits from Predators players. She had been to a few games before being diagnosed, but the visits were the start of her true hockey fandom.
"When you're in the hospital it stinks because you're kind of stuck in your room and you get to wander around a little bit," Lance said. "But when they come up there, that's the best part. It's more relaxed, and they're like real people. They're not just people you see on TV or at the rink. That was the coolest part."
Because of those visits, Lance has since become a huge Predators fan, and that was before her mom started working for the team.
"It's kind of like an escape from reality for a little while," Lance said. "Just to get in there and do your own thing and just watch the fun game and really get into that and not have to worry about anything else for a while. I think that was honestly true when I was there as a cancer patient too because it was like a breakaway and time to get away from being sick and just have fun."
Her time in the hospital also inspired her to become something else -- a pediatric oncology nurse. A 10-year cancer survivor, Lance, 23, now helps those battling the disease, working at the T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital at Erlanger in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

"I had the best nurses at Vanderbilt, and from the second they started taking care of me I knew I was in good hands. I was like 'This is what I want to do for somebody else,'" said Lance. "Me and my mom say it to this day, this is why this happened. I was put on this path, and this happened to be how I learned about it. I was probably 12 or 13 when I decided I wanted to be a nurse and did every single thing in my power to make it happen."
The Predators have that power as well, and continue to do so, visiting children with cancer at Monroe Carrel Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.
It was during the 2013-14 season when goaltender Pekka Rinne, along with former teammate and current Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber, started the 365 Pediatric Cancer Fund. Weber was traded to Montreal on June 29, 2016.
"At the time, we had both signed long-term deals and knew that we were going to be in town for a while," Rinne said. "It was just something that, together, we wanted to do something and tried to find the best way to make an impact."
The fund, a partnership between the Predators Foundation and the hospital, uses the money raised from various events and corporations for research and to allow kids with cancer and their families to sit in a suite and go behind the scenes at a Predators game.
"It's unbelievable," Rinne said. "As a hockey player and as a person, I feel so unbelievably lucky and am so fortunate to be in this position where you can give back and where you can make an impact outside of the rink. I take a lot of pride in that. Shea, even though he got traded, is still involved. It's unbelievable. He doesn't want his name to be out there, but he still is. He's just that kind of guy. A guy with a golden heart. It's nice to be still involved in it with [Weber], the guy who I started it with."
Rinne said he feels humbled when he gets to present the check each year. He estimated this year, it will be for more than $400,000.
"Just seeing the kids, seeing the nurses, seeing the doctors at the hospital and them explaining to me what they can do with the money and what they can accomplish," Rinne said. "I feel very privileged to be in it."