T Statman raises money and awareness with every strike she throws.
The phone rang as I was walking into the gym. It was an unfamiliar number. “Debra?” The voice on the other end spoke softly but deliberately. “This is Doctor Palmer.” I remember thinking it odd for my dermatologist to be phoning me directly. “I got the lab report back. It’s melanoma.”
I felt myself stagger a bit. Melanoma? How can that be? I never go into the sun without layers of protection. I almost always wear a hat. I eat carefully, exercise, do all the right things.
Especially since losing my father to melanoma just a few short years earlier, I was hyper-vigilant to put it mildly. Plus I was still in my 30s and six months’ pregnant with my second child. No, this was not possible.
Being pregnant with melanoma is a double whammy. Because your body is in such a heightened state of growth and new cell development, the cancer cells can be overly aggressive and reproduce even faster than normal. Surgery was scheduled immediately and a large chunk of my upper right arm was removed to ensure clean margins. I was lucky they were able to get all of it, and I was spared any chemo or radiation treatments. Now all I have to remember the event is a thick 3-inch scar and slight indentation where the old tissue used to be. I’ve seen my dermatologist routinely every four months ever since.
So when my editor told me about Tamara “T” Statman, I jumped at the chance to do the interview. T Statman is a 17-year-old softball star at Horizon High School. She recently set the record of 1,000 strikeouts from the newly established 43-foot pitching distance. She’s smart, outgoing, beautiful and deeply committed to giving back to her family, her school and her community.
When I ask T about her new pitching record, she humbly brushes it off saying, “It’s about the team. You can get as many strikeouts as you want and still lose the game.” T plays club team softball in Alabama in the summer and high school ball here at Horizon in the spring. She’ll be playing for the University of Arizona come fall while she enjoys her full academic scholarship. T is truly a well-rounded, popular, thoughtful young woman. She also plays on the varsity golf team and holds a third-degree black belt in tae kwon do.
But keeping her body and mind in shape isn’t all T’s about. “I want to give back to the community,” she tells me. “That’s why I started T K’s for Skin Cancer, where people can pledge as little as 5 cents per strikeout.” All the proceeds go to the Arizona Skin Cancer Foundation. T K’s for Skin Cancer campaign is in its third season and raises money for and awareness about skin cancer throughout the community.
T’s father has battled skin cancer several times, and T is adamant about “checking the skin you’re in,” the Arizona Skin Cancer Foundation slogan she advances in her fundraising campaign. She goes to the dermatologist twice a year for skin checks and has made long sleeves part of her signature uniform. “Arizona has the highest rate of skin cancer,” she explains. “I’ve always gone to the dermatologist and am always cautious about my skin.” She smiles and adds, “I want to look 30 when I’m 50.” She seems perplexed that so many of her classmates still spend hours tanning and spring breaks in Mexico and Mission Beach trying to get “super dark.”
T K’s for Skin Cancer was developed with Dr. Richard Averitte, the head of the Arizona Skin Cancer Foundation. “Most of the money raised goes to treating melanoma patients,” Dr. Averitte explains on T’s promotional video. “Every melanoma patient we get that is uninsured will cost at a minimum $20 to 25,000.” Any additional funds go to education and research.
T’s family belongs to Chabad of North Phoenix, and she definitely believes her Judaism informs her social consciousness. “So much of being Jewish is about charity and family and community,” T says. She volunteers at Chabad for a program called Friendship Circle, which works with special-needs kids, teens and adults. She is also trying to learn Hebrew online from several Orthodox colleagues she met at a National Council of Youth Sports event.
“Sometimes it’s hard.” T reveals. “Softball games are on Friday nights.” She also played last year on Yom Kippur. “You do what you’ve got to do. I didn’t drink anything until I got on the field. Then right after the game I went to synagogue. I do what I can, what I can control.”
I ask T what she thinks is the most valuable lesson learned from participating in team sports. “It teaches you how to get along with 16 other personalities,” she comments tactfully. “There’s always drama. You just choose to ignore it.”
T is also proud of her past participation in Junior State of America’s mock congress. She helped author a bill outlawing the use of handheld devices while driving that is now headed to the Arizona State Legislature. Her political aspirations are leading her toward a political science major at U of A. But she’s not abandoning her athletic interests, and she plans to minor in sports management and communications.
Is T interested in playing pro softball? She doesn’t see that in her future. Although she does confide, “If softball is part of the Olympics in 2020 in Japan, I’m definitely trying out.”
Follow T on Twitter @TStatman and on Instagram @theonlyrealT.
