Intermountain Healthcare and the Las Vegas Raiders honored five cancer survivors last month during the pregame show against Houston at Allegiant Stadium.
A special pregame performance in recognition of detecting cancer early featured Emmy award-winning, multi-platinum selling recording artist and author Rachel Platten, who performed her uplifting pop hit, “Fight Song,” to commemorate and celebrate cancer survivors. The multi-platinum selling single topped countless music charts around the globe and has become an anthem for those battling cancer worldwide.
During that pregame performance, five Intermountain Healthcare cancer survivors were recognized in front of an Allegiant Stadium audience of nearly 61,000 fans for their courageous fight. Intermountain Healthcare is the “Official Healthcare Partner of the Raiders” and a Founding Partner of Allegiant Stadium.
Ricky Tebbs, Intermountain physician assistant, and his fellow patient, Emma Zarate, were two of the survivors recognized.
Tebbs cares for patients, like Zarate, at the Intermountain Cancer Center at St. George Regional Hospital in St. George, Utah, all while fighting his own battle with brain cancer.
Zarate was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2021 at 18 while attending Utah Tech University. Her cancer has recently gone into remission.
“Seeing the journey of one of our patients and how hard it was on her made me recall feelings about how hard this journey has been for my family and me as well,” said Tebbs. “Being around the other families today, we didn’t even have to say anything; we were just a part of something that was so hard but refined us all and made us all strong.
“Looking back at my family and standing next to the other survivors on stage, particularly Emma, I was so proud that we were standing stronger than ever, still standing tall and fighting. There couldn’t be a better anthem in Rachel Platten’s ‘Fight Song.’”
Audrey Monti, a Las Vegas mother of two, was an avid runner and indoor cyclist before her breast cancer diagnosis.
Monti recalled the memorable event: “It was an honor to have been selected to represent cancer survivors and participate in this special event. Standing on stage alongside fellow survivors and listening to Rachel Platten sing ‘Fight Song’ was an emotionally charged experience I won’t soon forget. Thank you to the Raiders and Intermountain Healthcare for this incredible opportunity.”
Monti said she is looking forward to returning to being active, once her body has fully healed.
Born and raised in Las Vegas, Jordan Moreno, 18, energized the crowd by waving his arms as he walked on stage.
Moreno has been battling Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and recently made strides throughout a long journey and is currently in remission.
Also honored was Jordan Trujillo, 19, of Henderson, Nevada. Trujillo has endured 35 rounds of chemotherapy and four major surgeries while fighting Ewing Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.
Previously that week, the Raiders and Intermountain also honored and hosted teens from the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada with a night out at Allegiant Stadium.
Raiders players Andre James, Daniel Carlson, Luke Masterson, and Chase Garbers joined the teens in activities that included tie-dying Raiders t-shirts that represented colors associated with cancer awareness.
The teens also were treated to dinner and exclusive tours of Allegiant Stadium, with visits to the Raiders’ and Raiderettes’ locker rooms.
– Intermountain Healthcare
About Intermountain Healthcare
Intermountain Healthcare is a nonprofit system of 33 hospitals, 385 clinics, medical groups with some 3,900 employed physicians and advanced care providers in seven states, a health plans division called SelectHealth with more than one million members, and other health services.
Intermountain is committed to helping people live the healthiest lives possible by improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs.