Mike's Volunteer Story

An NFL quarterback knows a thing or two about courage. Mike Glennon faces gargantuan defensive linemen and relentless linebackers who are paid to drive him into the turf.

But it’s the strength of a cancer patient facing the unknown that Mike, a former Buccaneers quarterback, believes is the true definition of courage. And it became personal for him as he saw the effects of cancer on his parents. His father John, who helped coach all the Glennon children in sports, is currently being treated for prostate cancer. It’s a major reason Mike wants to give back in any way he can. “So I started working with Moffitt Cancer Center,” he says. “I’m just really happy and honored that they wanted me to work with them.”

He volunteers by making appearances at local cancer screening events to help raise awareness for the importance of getting checked. He also visits Moffitt cancer patients, listening to their stories and offering words of strength and encouragement. Mike reflects on meeting a patient from Iowa who had come all the way to Moffitt for his treatment. “He wrote to me a few months later on social media saying that he was cancer-free. It made me feel good that he remembered me talking to him, ‘cause at the time he seemed a little down.”

Mike sees inspiring levels of courage in Moffitt chemo patients and the family support they receive. He admires the mental toughness of all of them working together like a team, “with one goal at hand—and that’s to beat the cancer.”