Former Kansas University basketball star Mario Chalmers will be in Lawrence next week to celebrate the opening of Mario’s Closet at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
Mario’s Closet is a specialty shop for a variety of free or low-cost accessories for cancer patients, such as wigs, hats, prosthetics and special bras. Chalmers’ foundation donated $25,000 to the LMH Endowment Association to establish the shop.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house are set for 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, July 22, at LMH, 325 Maine. It is free and open to the public.
Chalmers, who plays for the Miami Heat, said during an interview last year that he wanted to give back to LMH, which treated him while playing basketball, and to Lawrence, a town he considers “a home away from home.”
He wanted to help cancer patients because a longtime childhood friend, Paul Peterson, lost his mother, Pauline, to the disease. Chalmers said she was like a second mother to him.
The LMH Regional Oncology Center sees about 600 newly diagnosed cancer patients each year and about 120 breast-cancer patients.
