Packers cornerback Tramon Williams and his wife, Shantrell, have been affected by cancer. Credit: American Cancer Society

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Green Bay — You have another reason to cheer every time Tramon Williams makes a big play.

That's because every time the veteran Packers cornerback gets an interception, he donates $1,000 the the American Cancer Society. And every time he breaks up a pass, he donates $500. So far this season, he has one interception and six passes defensed.

Williams has good reason to care. Breast cancer has touched his life personally.

He lost his aunt to the disease, and his wife, Shantrell, has witnessed her grandmother, mother and two aunts all fight breast cancer.

To Tramon and Shantrell, wearing pink during the NFL's Breast Cancer Awareness month just isn't enough. They have vowed to do more.

"It has been a true blessing to have the Williamses involved," said Laurie Bertrand, senior manager of community events for the American Cancer Society. "They are two phenomenal, inspirational people. They recognize that his name can have a great impact — but the cool thing is they don't just lend their name. They do the work."

Taking the donations a step further, Shantrell and Tramon will host their second annual powder puff charity football game Oct. 14 at Joannes Stadium in Green Bay that will feature about a dozen wives and girlfriends of Green Bay Packers players. Tramon and cornerback Davon House will be coaches, with Shantrell and Leatricia House as team captains.

All money raised will be donated to the American Cancer Society. The cost to get in will be $7 for adults and $5 for children; the stadium seats 1,000.

Last year, thanks to an estimated crowd of 350 who braved the coldest day in October, the event raised $4,000, in addition to the $22,000 Tramon Williams had already donated from his own salary. The money goes specifically to the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer division of the American Cancer Society.

The game ended in a 6-6 tie, with Shantrell Williams getting an interception and the crowd seeing some serious competitive personalities out of Lindsey Kuhn and Mindy Bennett, the wives of fullback John Kuhn and coach Edgar Bennett.

"I'm proud of what she did with this game because it is something dear to our heart," said Tramon Williams. "Every woman on her mom's side all had it. It's hard not to really think about it, so you might as well take action."

That's kind of been Shantrell's approach in general.

She was just 28 years old when she went in for advanced testing in 2013 to see if she carried the same gene — BRCA1 or BRCA2 — as the other women in her family.

She was terrified.

But the mother of Tramon Jr., 4, and Trinity, 2, pressed on.

"The scariest part about the whole thing is you can go in for a routine check and come out with breast cancer," said Shantrell. "It's like a common cold for women.

"But I did it for my daughter. When you have kids, it's not about you anymore. I wanted to be sure. You know, some women have the gene — and they're scared to tell their child because they worry their child is going to blame them. I just wanted to be up front and honest about everything."

The good news is that Shantrell can count three in her family as survivors: her mother, Tomorrow Moore, her aunt, Kim Moore, and her grandmother, Dorothy Moore. They fight in memory of her aunt, Regina Keener, who battled breast cancer for eight years before she passed away in 2001 at age 39.

"I saw how it affected my parents and my other family members. At the same time, my grandmother may be the strongest woman I know," said Shantrell. "She fought every single day with a smile. She never had anything bad to say."

Williams had to wait for a month to get the results. The discovery of that gene, incidentally, was made with the funding by the American Cancer Society.

Shantrell knew the news that she didn't have the gene didn't completely clear her of the possibility of cancer.

But it was great news, nonetheless.

"I was scared — but I put it in God's hands. I told Him I was going to be the one to break this generation of curses," said Shantrell Williams. "When the lady called me on the phone with the results, I said, 'I know you have got good news for me.'

"She was like, 'You're right.'"

Now she joins her husband as a team committed to funding and finding a cure.

"The more I've gotten to know them, they're just a class act," said Bertrand. "They want to be involved; they want to be on the ground, working. At the end of the game last year – it was the coldest day in October – they talked to every survivor who was there. She likes to meet the survivors.

"They were the last ones out there. The school had to turn out the lights on them."

IF YOU GO

Tickets for the Oct. 14 powder puff football game can be purchased online at

makingstrideswalk.org/greenbaywi or at the American Cancer Society office at 790 Marrvelle Lane in Green Bay.

For more information call 920-321-1361 or email laurie.bertrand@cancer.org.