Albion and Batavia youth football team up to highlight childhood cancer

Provided photo

BATAVIA – Two cheerleaders at the Albion-Batavia youth football games on Saturday were the focus of an effort to raise awareness for childhood cancer.

Emma Harris, left, of Batavia and Madison Muckle, 7, of Albion have been diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. Madison has endured chemotherapy and is cancer-free.

“She is doing wonderful,” said Madison’s mother, Jaime Allport. “We’ve been very lucky. There hasn’t been any side effects.”

Emma was recently diagnosed with ALL.

More than 60 coaches and parents from both communities wore gold-colored shirts to highlight childhood cancer during youth football games on Saturday. The effort was part of a national push where September is “Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.”

Photo by Tom Rivers

Geno Allport, coach for the Albion JV team in the youth football program, wears one of the gold shirts while addressing the team after a 34-0 victory over Batavia. He is the uncle of Madison Muckle, who battled cancer for 2 1/2 years and is now free of the disease.

Madison was diagnosed when she was 3. She is now entering second grade and participates in dance, baseball, cheerleading and Girl Scouts. Her family and friends have put on the “Madisonation Golf Tournament” the past five years. Visit madisonation.org for more on the golf tournament.

The benefit on Aug. 23 at Hickory Ridge Gold Course raised $6,110, with some of the proceeds given to Emma Harris’s family to help them while they fight the disease.

Madison’s mother said few research dollars or public awareness is directed to childhood cancer, even though there are about 13,500 children diagnosed with cancer in the United States annually.