INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Last week, college basketball coaches across the country took part in Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week.

The annual week is a “nationwide event when basketball coaches across the country unite for a common cause – ending cancer as we know it.”

The yearly event is something that is important to all coaches, but especially those who know cancer’s effects first-hand, like UIndy men’s basketball head coach Paul Corsaro.

“I’m a cancer survivor,” Corsaro told News 8 Sports’ Andrew Chernoff. “When I was 15 years old, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. It helped shape me and make me who I am today.”

The good thing for Corsaro is that doctors were able to remove the tumor and he didn’t have to go through chemotherapy.

“Fortunately for me, I was able to be okay, and (it) didn’t progress much passed the early stages, but again, it’s one of those things where any time I hear someone else go through it, I can empathize with them,” Corsaro said.

To help bring attention to the fight to end cancer, coaches from across the country wear sneakers during their games during Suits and Sneakers Week. Corsaro wears a special pair of sneakers as well. One of his friends gave him the shoes as a wedding gift:

“Cancer’s one of those things I wouldn’t wish upon anybody,” Corsaro said. “But, it’s something I would never take away from my story.”

Corsaro said one of the biggest things he took away from having cancer was just making sure he never wasted any time in life – make the most of each moment. That message is something that resonates with his players.

“Time is one thing that we don’t get back, and you never know when it can be taken away from you,” UIndy guard Josiah Tynes.

The Greyhounds are back in action at Missouri S&T Thursday at 8:30 p.m. EST.