Lance Leipold talks about Kelly's breast cancer diagnosis
Kansas head coach Lance Leipold has spent much of his career going through a season focusing solely on football . This fall, that routine changed as he and his wife, Kelly, face a challenge that is off the field. Kelly was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and is undergoing treatment through the University of Kansas Health System.
She recently shared her story publicly on social media, thanking KU Med for their care, and emphasized the importance of early detection.
The Leipold’s announced a $50,000 family matching donation to the KU Cancer Center. The funds will help provide mammograms across Kansas and the Kansas City area for women who might otherwise not have access.
“It’s been a long fall for us as a family,” Leipold said on Sports Radio 810. “We kind of went through some things and just encouraging everyone with health. We’d heard about executive physicals and full-day physicals. And we had decided to go through KU Health to do that this fall through our open dates and stuff.”
Kelly’s screening led to further testing and an unexpected diagnosis. Leipold said from the start, his wife wanted to share her experience if it could help someone else.
“She did hers first and obviously detection and further testing was happening and, you know, we had the unfortunate news,” he said. “And so, as we went through this and as things kind of progressed, as she had stated in her post, if her story can get someone else to want to do it, to get tested early and stay on top of it. Then it’s worth sharing and doing and everything that you go through.”
That led them to their personal journey with public impact. They launched the matching donation effort in hopes of helping women who might delay screenings for financial or other reasons.
“Then it’s like, okay, what can we do to help people?” Leipold said. “We’ve been blessed in our situation to try to help and try to get more people that maybe put things off because they don’t feel financially they can make it, they can make ends meet. This is kind of where it’s at. This has been something that she’s wanted to do and going from there.”
Throughout the process, Leipold said the family has been lifted up by the thoughts, prayers, and support that have surrounded them, and by the care they’ve received through KU Med.
“Everyone that has reached out in thoughts and prayers, we have great faith in the Lord and we have great faith in the people at KU Med for the services and treatments that are coming,” Leipold said.
The diagnosis also hit home for Leipold. His mother battled breast cancer for a long time before passing away in 1998. Her strength is an inspiration for his family today.
“My mother went shortly after I graduated high school, and she battled for 16 years back up at the University of Wisconsin Hospital there and led a lot of experimental treatments to be done during her time of battling it,” Leipold said. “And I think in some way, shape, or form, this will have come back to help Kelly and has helped many others.”
He was asked about the experience working with KU Med, and Leipold said they are receiving good care from everyone involved in the process.
“It’s been very good. We’ve been very pleased, and the continual contact and things have been very much to our pleasure,” he said. “Kelly was a former nurse, so she’s got a pretty good understanding of a lot of things that kind of happen in that world and has a good understanding of what to be asking in that. The dialogue’s been very good and again, very pleased.”
