The 13-year veteran is teaming up with AstraZeneca for their Get Body Checked Against Cancer public health campaign.

Losing a loved one is difficult. “Time heals all wounds” is an idiom that gets thrown around a lot, but it’s not always the case. When someone you know and love is diagnosed with a terminal illness, you might want time to stop altogether. The emotional and mental toll can be devastating.

Alex Killorn has experienced these emotions on three separate occasions after losing three of his grandparents to cancer. Killorn hadn’t reached age 10 when his grandfather passed away from pancreatic cancer and was in his teens when two more of his grandparents passed away from colon cancer and breast cancer. Killorn said that the time between their diagnoses and when they passed was short, less than two years between for each of them.

“It was very difficult—especially on my mother's side—because every summer we'd go to New Brunswick to visit with them and my grandfather died when I was fairly young, so I didn't know a ton about it and it didn't hit me as hard,” Killorn said. “But when my grandmother died later, it hit me quite hard. It’s difficult.”

Colon and breast cancer are two of the most common cancers in the U.S. and can be treated effectively if they are detected early via screenings. As part of the NHL and NHLPA’s joint initiative with AstraZeneca and Hockey Fights Cancer, Killorn is partnering with AstraZeneca for their Get Body Checked Against Cancer public health campaign. The campaign’s goal is to encourage people to get screened for cancer and how, like a well-timed body check in hockey can save a game, a well-timed body check for your health can save a life.

“I'm super excited to help out with AstraZeneca's venture and get body checked against cancer,” Killorn said. “It's important to me because I've had three grandparents that have died from cancer. It was important for me to be involved because of that.

"(I’m) also thinking about my parents as they grow older hoping that nothing bad happens to them. You think about these things when your parents get older, so just wanting them to get screened and if I can create any awareness for anyone else to get screened for these things, it'd be a massive success.”

One of the NHL/NHLPA’s other partners, whom the campaign is deeming “HFC Champions”, is Killorn’s former teammate Ryan McDonagh. The pair played together for parts of six seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning and hosted a Kan Jam “Jam Kancer in the Kan” Fundraiser in 2020 to help raise money for the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) program at Moffitt Cancer Center.

“They were looking for ambassadors (for this campaign) and they had told me that McDonagh, who's a close friend of mine, was going to do it,” Killorn said. “So for he and I to kind of do it together, I was really happy to be involved with it. We did the fundraiser in Tampa for people who had cancer or certain diseases and weren't able to get pregnant, they were kind of our age and it was cool we could help out with that. We did it for one year (because COVID-19 happened and then) he ended up getting traded. But it was great and it was so much fun doing it with him.”

Because of how much cancer has personally affected Killorn, Hockey Fights Cancer Night is a special night. He hopes that by raising awareness through the Get Body Checked Against Cancer campaign and the general promotions of Hockey Fights Cancer Night, people will be encouraged to get checked for cancer.

“(Hockey Fights Cancer Night is) super special,” Killorn said. “It reminds me of my grandparents and everything that I went through. Being in the NHL is a huge accomplishment and a lot of it had to do with them, especially when you're younger with them helping out. It’s a great night.”

Killorn gave a sheepish grin when asked how often he gets screened for cancer. “Not a ton. I’m going to start getting checked now that I’m involved with this partnership. We’re going to get screened pretty soon.”

Tomorrow, Nov. 5, is Anaheim’s Hockey Fights Cancer Night. The Ducks organization has been personally affected by cancer over the past few seasons after prospect Will Francis and former Ducks coaches Mike Stothers and Sudarshan Maharaj received cancer diagnoses. All of them are now cancer-free.

I’m hoping (tomorrow) will be a great opportunity to spread that awareness,” Killorn said. I think on the Jumbotron, I'm going to try to do something where we talk about this joint venture with the NHLPA, the NHL and AstraZeneca.”

When asked if he had any memories from previous Hockey Fights Cancer nights, Killorn offered one from his time with the Lightning:

“There was a girl named MaKayla that I became really close with in Tampa and she would come to all the games and she was a huge fan. 
We would try to make sure that on that night, she was on the ice at the end or close to the glass during warmups. That's a great memory.

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MaKayla passed away in 2021, but her memory is carried on by her loved ones, much like Killorn does with his grandparents. “I think it's a reality that a lot of people deal with,” he said. “I'm not alone in this. A lot of people deal with this. To be involved in this initiative has been huge and that's a big reason why I'm doing this.“

For more information on the Get Body Checked Against Cancer campaign, visit getbodychecked.com.