The College of Washington girls's soccer staff has suffered a tragic loss.
Goalkeeper Mia Hamant, who helped the Washington Huskies make it to the semifinals within the Large Ten event her junior yr, died Thursday, November 6, of Stage 4 kidney most cancers. She was 21.
“Mia was the center of our program — somebody who lifted up everybody round her together with her pleasure, braveness, and kindness. Even in essentially the most tough moments, she confirmed an unshakable spirit that impressed her teammates and coaches each single day. Mia made us all higher individuals, and her influence can be felt on this program and in all of our lives endlessly,” Nicole Van Dyke, the staff's head coach, said in a statement shared by the college on Thursday.
Pat Chun, the Director of Athletics, added, “The College of Washington grieves the heartbreaking lack of Mia Hamant, whose energy, kindness, and spirit touched everybody round her. Mia embodied every part we hope for in a Husky student-athlete — perseverance, grace, and an unwavering dedication to her teammates and group. Her exceptional braveness via adversity and the legacy she leaves behind will endlessly encourage the UW household.”
The staff doctor, Ashwin Rao, commented on the social media submit, opening up about his staff working with the late athlete.
“I had the privilege of attending to know Mia all through her 4 years as a student-athlete, and through her prognosis and remedy,” he wrote. “I used to be additionally lucky to be together with her to the tip of her journey. All through the method, Mia fought her most cancers as fiercely as she performed. She wished to be an inspiration to others additionally combating most cancers, in addition to a supply of consciousness and destigmatization.”
Hamant loved an amazing 2024 season with this system, recording the third-lowest single-season goals-against common in program historical past earlier than lacking the 2025 season attributable to her prognosis. The Large Ten convention honored Hamant with the 2025 Sportsmanship Award this week.
Mia Hamant Washington Huskies Courtesy of the College of Washington/Instagram
In an interview with 97.3 KIRO Newsradio on Friday, November 7, College of Washington affiliate professor Scott Tykodi defined how somebody so younger and so wholesome might be struck with such an aggressive illness.
“Kidney Most cancers, that's a sort of a normal, informal time period, however what we usually see in adults, what's referred to as renal cell carcinoma has a number of totally different subtypes, and there are a number of uncommon sorts which can be enriched in a a lot youthful affected person inhabitants, one thing referred to as a medullary renal cell carcinoma and a translocation renal cell carcinoma that usually seems in sufferers of their late teenagers, 20s, early 30s,” he mentioned.
Tykodi continued: “And people subtypes reply a lot much less nicely to the out there therapies. And so it's an actual tragedy that these uncommon sorts which can be enriched in youthful sufferers, but the therapies we've usually don't work very nicely in any respect. So it's an terrible, an terrible state of affairs.”
Hamant's most cancers, stage 4 SMARCB1-deficient kidney most cancers (which is also referred to as renal medullary carcinoma) is especially uncommon — the younger soccer star was solely the 14th documented case of the illness. In keeping with the Mayo Clinic, stage 4 of kidney most cancers usually means the illness has unfold to different components of the physique.
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“It's fairly uncommon to have younger sufferers with a kidney most cancers prognosis, and I believe it all the time hurts extra to see such a teenager wrestle with a horrible illness that doesn't have healing choices,” Tykodi added.
