‘Without This Checkup, I’d Have Been in Trouble’: Buffalo Sabres and Roswell Park Celebrate a Decade of Impact

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The 2025-26 National Hockey League season marks 10 years since Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Buffalo Sabres formally launched their One Goal partnership — a collaborative effort to bring cancer awareness, education and early detection services to people across Western New York. 

“One of the reasons Buffalo loves our Sabres so much is all the ways we see this team giving back,” says Roswell Park President and CEO Candace S. Johnson, PhD. “We began One Goal to make cancer early detection easier and more accessible, and in the process we found a great way to inform and inspire our whole community. Individually and as an organization, the Buffalo Sabres have been incredible partners, passionate in their support for Roswell Park patients and invested as partners in our mission to help our community.”

“Our work with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is built on a shared commitment to supporting this community,” says Jacob Vernon, Buffalo Sabres Chief Commercial Officer. “Together, we’ve made a lasting impact in Western New York through early detection and education, and we look forward to building on that work in the years ahead.”

“I never in my life ever suspected that I had cancer,” prostate cancer survivor Russell Wansart told the Buffalo Sabres last year, just a few months after he attended a Sabres game, learned about an upcoming prostate cancer early detection event, and got screened by Roswell Park medical staff in a private suite within KeyBank Center.

Shortly after a 10-minute screening session, Russell met with Roswell Park’s Dr. Eric Kauffman, who told him his tests showed elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels — a biomarker monitored through blood tests. A subsequent biopsy confirmed Russell’s cancer diagnosis. “And without this checkup from the Sabres,” Wansart said, “I’d have been in trouble.”

Roswell Park is proud to be the Official and Exclusive Comprehensive Cancer Care Provider and Health System of the Buffalo Sabres. Across the 10 years of the Buffalo Sabres’ One Goal partnership with Roswell Park:

• Roswell Park and the Sabres have welcomed the public to 12 different skin cancer and prostate cancer screening and education events at KeyBank Center — offering a chance to tour the arena, interact with Sabres alumni, hear talks from experts and access appropriate cancer education and early detection services in accordance with national screening recommendations.
• Tens of thousands of Sabres fans learned key facts on topics like when to start cancer screenings and who is most at risk of developing some of the most common forms of cancer, through messages shared on signage, articles, interviews and the KeyBank Center jumbotron.
• Among the thousands who attended these events, nearly 3,000 individuals received early-detection services and education from Roswell Park experts, with roughly 1 in 7 of those who received screening advised to pursue follow-up care based on testing results or findings from a physical exam.

• The Buffalo Sabres — current players, coaches and team alumni — have paid numerous visits to patients at Roswell Park, including childhood cancer patients and survivors supported through the Courage of Carly Fund.

  
  The One Goal partnership generated numerous broad community benefits as well, including:

• Generating more than $4 million in cancer research and patient support programs at Roswell Park through fundraising initiatives such as Bald for Bucks and Hockey Fights Cancer.
• Increasing the numbers of Sabres and Bandits fans who take advantage of cancer screening or initiate conversations with their medical providers about cancer risk and detection.
• Reducing misperceptions about cancer by sharing educational resources and expert recommendations
• Inspiring healthy habits and opportunities for long-term cancer prevention.

• Giving cancer survivors like Wansart a chance to share their experiences and inspire others to be proactive about their health and wellness.
  
   

  

Roswell Park looks forward to building on this powerful partnership in the years ahead, ensuring that world-class cancer prevention, early detection and clinical care reach every corner of the region.

For more resources, including information about future cancer education and early detection events as dates and details are finalized, visit roswellpark.org/onegoal.

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From the world’s first chemotherapy research to the PSA prostate cancer biomarker, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center generates innovations that shape how cancer is detected, treated and prevented worldwide. The Roswell Park team of 4,000+ makes compassionate, patient-centered cancer care and services accessible across New York State and beyond. Rated “Exceptional” by the National Cancer Institute, Roswell Park, founded in 1898, was one of the first NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the country and remains the only one in Upstate New York. To learn more about Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Roswell Park Care Network, visit www.roswellpark.org, call 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or email ASKRoswell@RoswellPark.org.