Every hockey player knows what it feels like to get body checked. You’re skating hard, your eyes drift to the puck for a second and out of nowhere, bam! Someone levels you. It’s physical, it’s intense, and it often hurts. It’s part of the game.

Last weekend, while watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs, (hoping to see the Oilers LOSE!), I saw a commercial for different body check: GetBodyChecked.com. I assumed it was a gear ad or something, so I moderately listened to it in the background while surfing my phone but it was about cancer so my ears perked up. Specifically, it was about encouraging people to get screened early and to literally get your “body checked” by a doctor before something bad happens that you didn’t even see coming.

The commercial got me and I bit, and after looking into it, the campaign is backed by NHL Ducks defenseman, Jacob Trouba, and his mom, Kristy. As a NY player during the school year, I’ve watched Trouba’s games as a Ranger. I can’t stomach watching the Ducks but regardless he’s a bad a** defenseman and a leader on the ice but what impresses me even more is how he and his mom have gone out of their way to promote this campaign.

I’m approaching 16, two years younger than Trouba when he was drafted to the Jets. I don’t know what health journey he’s been on with his family nor with his mom but I remember the shock of my parents telling me my mom was sick. I remember being scared, confused and not knowing what would happen next.

The truth is, people don’t get checked. Let’s face it, our parents, (and even us as their kids) are lazy and procrastinate. People wait too long, either because they’re scared, because they think it’s too expensive, because they don’t want to believe something might be wrong, or because they’re just not willing or able to make the time. But cancer doesn’t care about your schedule or your calendar.

GetBodyChecked.com makes it super easy to understand what screenings are available and when you (or your mom or a loved one) should be getting one. It’s not just for adults. As a student, you can make an impact by sharing stuff like this. Talk to your parents. Don’t be annoying about it but subtly encourage people you know to get checked out. It costs you nothing to be an advocate. The way I look at it when it appropriately comes up in conversation, I could be the nudge that leads to this person I’m speaking with discovering early that they have a very treatable form of cancer. How amazing is that?

So as the Stanley Cup Final gets intense, and the hits get harder, think about the kind of body check that matters even more than the ones on the ice. Visit GetBodyChecked.com. Share it. Talk about it. It might seem like a small thing, but it’s actually a huge move.