The BYU basketball team pose with Coach Rose and a family participating in the Children with Cancer Christmas Foundation's annual Christmas party, December 14, 2011

Jonathan Hardy, BYU

PROVO, Utah The BYU mens basketball coaching staff will participate in the American Cancer Societys Relay for Life on Aug. 10 and 11 at Provo High School.

Head coach Dave Rose will kick off the event with a speech and the Survivors Lap, where cancer survivors lead the way around the track while being honored and applauded by all participants.

The coaching staff has entered a team in this years Relay for Life to assist in the fundraising efforts of the American Cancer Society and to honor Emily Austin, a teenager from Orem who has battled Leukemia since she was 5 years old.

The Roses met Emily and her family through the Children with Cancer Christmas Foundation, an organization that provides Christmas gifts to families with children fighting cancer. Dave and Cheryl and the BYU basketball team have supported the foundation for more than a decade.

Dave Rose battled a rare form of pancreatic cancer during the summer of 2009 and every member of the coaching staff has a close relative who has battled cancer or lost their life to the disease. Cheryl Rose lost her sister Janet to breast cancer just last year. Dave Rose was scheduled to speak at the opening of the Relay for Life in Provo last year but had to cancel to attend Janets funeral.

How to Donate Donations can be made to any member of the BYU Basketball Relay for Life team or online atwww.relayforlife.org. One hundred percent of all donations will be used to support cancer patients and cancer research.

About Relay for Life - The goal of Relay for Life is to "create a world where more people survive cancer so they can celebrate another birthday. This year more than 11 million people will be able to do that thanks to the support of millions of dedicated Relay participants."

Relay for Life is an overnight relay-style event held in communities throughout the world and is the primary fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Members of each team take turns walking around a track for the duration of the event. Food, games and activities provide entertainment and fundraising opportunities in a family-friendly environment for the entire community.

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BYU basketball coaches to participate in Relay for Life