The Mariners are playing another home game against the Twins this afternoon and if you’re at the game, there’s somebody special to root for – the 2019 Honorary Bat Girl, who’s from West Seattle. The photo and news release are from the team:

A West Seattle woman who credits her interest in the latest technology for discovering her breast cancer at an early stage has been selected as the Seattle Mariners Honorary Bat Girl for 2019. Dianne Munroe will be recognized on Sunday, May 19, and throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Mariners take on the Minnesota Twins.

The Honorary Bat Girl program was created by Major League Baseball in 2009 to raise awareness and support for the annual “Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer” initiative. Starting this year, MLB is partnering with CrowdRise to host a fundraising contest for each Honorary Bat Girl to raise money to benefit Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) and Susan G. Komen. The winning Bat Girl will receive a trip to the 2019 World Series. All funds raised through the initiative will be donated to SU2C and Komen. More information is available at HonoraryBatGirl.com, and the Mariners Honorary Bat Girl’s fundraising page is at this link.

Mariners Honorary Bat Girl

Dianne Munroe spent much of her 34-year career in health care designing treatment and care facilities. In the 1990s, as her work focused on spaces for women’s breast health, she became an advocate for regular mammograms. With a Masters in Engineering Management, it made sense to her to take advantage of the latest technology, too.

So when she had the chance to undergo new 3D imaging at the Franciscan Breast Center in Burien in 2016, she opted to wait a few months past her normal mammogram schedule to use the new equipment.

“And they found something. I guess that’s the blessing in the whole thing. Had I not done that, I probably would have had the (2D imaging) and I probably would have gone 14 or 15 months with nothing. I would never have detected mine. It was small and very deep and the machine is what picked up my cancer,” said Munroe.

Because her cancer was detected early, the tumor was small. Munroe underwent a lumpectomy and radiation therapy at Highline Cancer Care Center. She is now cancer-free, and her physician, Dr. Ani Fleisig, a CHI Franciscan surgical oncologist, says early detection often leads to a good outcome.