Olympic star athlete named to area board

TAMPA — Tampa-based Moffitt Cancer Center appointed Olympic gold medalist and cancer survivor Scott Hamilton to the organization's national board of advisors.

Hamilton won a gold medal in figuring skating at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. He leads the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation, which stands for Cancer Alliance for Research, Education and Survivorship, and the Scott Hamilton Skating Academy. The foundation supports two cancer education websites, a patient mentoring program and leads nationwide initiatives to raise awareness and funding for cancer research, such as Sk8 to Elimin8 Cancer.

“The culture and expertise that Moffitt holds as the center of its identity is elevating cancer treatment options that were once thought to be science fiction,” says Hamilton in a statement. “This is exactly the kind of alliance partner the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation seeks to support.”

According to the press release, Hamilton is a testicular cancer and pituitary brain tumor survivor. He will serve on Moffitt's national board of advisors with 32 other people.

“It is an honor to have Scott join our team,” says Moffitt board of advisors chair Bob Griese in a statement. “He is an incredible role model on so many different levels, and he is obviously so passionate about cancer research and quality patient care. We look forward to his thoughts and ideas.”