On Monday night, I attended a National Hockey League game here in Tampa, Florida. The Tampa Bay Lightning played the Dallas Stars at an event billed as “Hockey Fights Cancer Night.”

Modeled loosely after the National Football League's breast cancer awareness program—you know, the one that has all of the players wearing pink shoes and hats—this promotion wasn't as big a deal.

No pink skates or helmets to be found. There were a few public announcements and banners. Young girls did pass out pink ribbons to some of the fans entering the game.

But for me, my wife Pattie, her sister and husband, who joined us for the game, it was a big deal.

Why? Because the beneficiaries of the event were the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and Moffitt Cancer Center, where I go for treatment.

Between the first and second periods of the game, the owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Jeff Vinik, presented a $10,000 check to the local LLS chapter. Then, between the second and third periods, an additional $8,115 from a Lightning-sponsored fundraiser was given to Moffitt Cancer Center.

Recently I read an article by a young breast cancer survivor named Kathy-Ellen Kups titled “The Stink Over Pink.” Kups acknowledged the resentment some non-breast cancer patients feel over all the attention being given to this one type of cancer.

Kups eloquently makes the point that—although it might seem unfair to give breast cancer so much attention—the ultimate goal is to cure all cancer. So if that means breast cancer gets lots of attention and becomes one of the first to be obliterated, so be it! Hopefully what researchers learn from curing breast cancer can help those with other cancers as well.

Hard to argue with that! I must admit I sometimes become a bit envious of all the attention and cash raised to help fight breast cancer.

But last night was our night. It may not have been as glitzy, well-promoted, and organized as some breast cancer events, but it was our event.

I recognized several other multiple myeloma patients at the game. We all had been given free tickets, courtesy of the Lightning.

One of the other multiple myeloma patients I knew at the game, named Richard, shared my enthusiasm. Then I asked him if he felt exploited by the NHL. Were they using nights like this to shamelessly exploit other cancer patients like us?

Richard's response was a resounding “NO!” He was excited to hear multiple myeloma mentioned at the game. He was happy to see the size of the two donations. But Richard was also very excited about the great seats and the opportunity to enjoy a night out at the game with his father, daughter and her boyfriend.

Not only were they raising awareness and money for multiple myeloma and other cancers, but they were giving us cancer patients the chance to get away to spend a few hours with friends and family and to enjoy a premier sporting event on the house.

After all, it's the simple pleasures which help keep us going each day, right?

Feel good and keep smiling! Pat