Charleston native Sara Woods was in Guatamala with her mother on a mission trip when she fell ill. She was rushed from rural Guatamala to a hospital in Guatemala City where Sara underwent immediate surgery to remove a malignant tumor from her intestines.

On return to Charleston she was admitted into MUSC for treatment. After a number of doctors and hospitals were visited and consulted, her doctors had a diagnosis; clear cell sarcoma. Sarcoma is rare and Sara’s cancer is considered among the rarest of the rare.

Neither chemotherapy nor radiation are effective on clear cell sarcoma. Science is moving rapidly in the direction of immunotherapy for more common types of breast, lung and colon cancers, and while the same mutations are often found in sarcoma like Sara’s, the rarity of her sarcoma makes it low on the research priority list.

This is where we need your help. Sara's Cure is working with a researcher to fund work strictly on the EWSR1-ATF1 gene fusion as it relates to the GI tract. It may be expensive to fund, but it’s vital as it is there we will find a cure for Sara and many others that suffer with these rare orphan tumors.

The Shockers have a personal connection to the Woods family. Sara's father Denny Woods was a coach and Sara's sister Jackie was a player in the program in 2018. Jackie was later diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. At one time both the Woods girls were fighting cancer. These people are family, and this fight is personal.

Charleston Shockers fastpitch teams with Sara's Cure and mPower6 to connect our athletes with a higher purpose in our fundraising campaigns. Using the mPower6 tool set teaches children the value of working for donations and the ethics of giving back by sharing a portion of the proceeds with Sara's Cure.

To get involved with Sara's Cure, the Shockers and mPower6, please contact us at charlestonshockers@gmail.com.