CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 SPORTS) -- Tony Bennett and his coaching staff had Nike cross-trainers on their feet on the Virginia bench during Monday night's game against NC State. At the other end, Kevin Keatts and his staff were wearing Adidas basketball shoes.

'Suits and Sneakers Week' is an annual tradition in college basketball as part of 'Coaches versus Cancer.' This year, 'Suits and Sneakers' is trying to generate more awareness for childhood cancer.

"Every two minutes, they say there's a child that's diagnosed with cancer," said Kwamina Williford, the wife of UVA associate head coach Jason Williford. "It's just something that we really need to know that it's prevalent and it's out there."

The UVA coaches have been donning sneakers to create awareness for years. But this season, 'Suits and Sneakers Week' has a bit more meaning for Williford and other members of the UVA athletics community.

"There have been a number of wives who cancer has touched this year," she explained. "I'm one of them."

Williford was diagnosed with DCIS, a form of breast cancer, last August.

"When you get that diagnosis, when you get that call of cancer, it's tough," Williford recalled. "But I was not the only one. I had known that there were a couple of other wives earlier that year, within the last couple of months, who were also diagnosed with cancer."

Williford's first call after learning her diagnosis was to her husband. Her second was to her mother. Her third was to Lauren Hagans, the wife of UVA football assistant coach Marques Hagans.

Hagans was diagnosed with breast cancer in October of 2018, after being prompted to get a checkup following a visit with another friend within the UVA athletics community who was also fighting cancer.

"When I was diagnosed with cancer, I had so many people rally around me, both on the football staff and the basketball staff. The entire athletic department," Hagans recalled. "I think that sense of camaraderie and support is incredible. It's invaluable. So I think it's the network of people, and the love and support of each other, that's gotten all of us through this."

"Being able to talk to her about what her experience was, and what type of questions to ask. Knowing she had two boys, the same as I did, and how to talk to her children about it and how they handled it," said Williford. "It was such a source of strength and support that really gave me the strength to know that I can get through this."

Those experiences have prompted Williford and Hagans and others to get more involved in 'Coaches versus Cancer' this season. Their website includes more on their personal stories, plus those of others who have dealt with the disease, either personally or through family or friends. It also includes a link to donate to the American Cancer Society -- with UVA setting a fund-raising goal of $50,000 during 'Suits and Sneakers Week.'

But the primary goal is to use the platform as a way to spread that same awareness and support that helped them battle cancer.

"Knowing that it's so pervasive. Knowing that it can touch you. The importance of being proactive. The importance of getting checked," Williford said. "Because there is a true community that can support you and be there."

"This has touched all of us, from the littles to the adults," said Hagans. "So for all of us to do something hard together, and raise money and support for cancer in general, it's a fantastic thing."