A Tampa Bay foundation fighting colorectal cancer by expanding access to early detection — so no one goes unscreened. Inspired by the journey of Stephen Garcia.
Quarterback Your Health funds colorectal cancer screenings for uninsured and at‑risk individuals across Tampa Bay — including the many who fall outside standard screening guidelines, and the many more who delay it, avoid it, or never get the chance. Removing that barrier is how we save lives.
Quarterbacks get knocked down by things they never saw coming — and toughness is not about never getting knocked down, it is about what you do on the next play.
What Stephen is doing now is bigger than anything he ever did with a football in his hands.
Masha and Stephen Garcia
A husband, father, and fighter — and a Tampa native who became one of the most prolific quarterbacks in University of South Carolina history. Wearing No. 5 under coach Steve Spurrier, Stephen led the Gamecocks to the 2010 SEC East title and the program’s first-ever win over a No. 1-ranked team, Alabama.
After college he played in the CFL and for the Tampa Bay Storm, and today he coaches young quarterbacks back home in Tampa. In 2026, after months of brushing off symptoms, his wife Masha pushed him to see a doctor — and the diagnosis was Stage IV colorectal cancer that had gone undetected for years.
Now in treatment at Tampa’s Moffitt Cancer Center and Tampa General Hospital, Stephen is using his platform for one message: listen to your body, set your pride aside, and get checked. He has taken one of the hardest things that has ever happened to him and turned it outward — asking how his fight can help someone else win theirs. His fight inspired Quarterback Your Health.
One of the most commonly diagnosed cancers — and rising fast in adults under 50.
Caught early, it’s highly treatable. Early detection changes everything.
Education and screening access are the front line of this fight.
When you support Quarterback Your Health, you’re not just supporting Stephen. You’re helping us reach people before cancer gets the chance to write their story for them.
You’re helping someone get screened.
You’re helping someone catch it early.
And you may very well be helping save a life.
Thank You
Our inaugural fundraiser sold out — August 21, 2026 in Lutz, FL. We’re just getting started.
Hats, a limited-edition release, and more from partners backing Stephen’s fight — each piece carrying the same reminder he gives everyone he meets: listen to your body, and get checked.
Screening news, event dates, and how the fight is going — straight to your inbox.
© 2026 Quarterback Your Health Foundation. All rights reserved.
★ Together, we can make a difference ★
