KANSAS CITY -- John Hicks had the honor of catching former neighbor Justin Verlander two years ago. Hicks caught Matthew Boyd during his 13-strikeout gem against the Yankees in April, and he caught Spencer Turnbull’s first Major League win. But none of that will compare to Hicks getting behind the plate on Friday and catching a ceremonial first pitch from his mother as part of Pink Out the Park Night at Comerica Park.

Karen Hicks has been battling cancer for most of the last four years since being diagnosed HER2-positive, an aggressive form of breast cancer, in 2015. She beat it, but that was only the start.

“She did chemo and had a double mastectomy, got rid of [the cancer],” the Tigers catcher explained. “She found another spot under her arm and that was cancer as well, and they got rid of that. And then after that, she just has regular scans just because of the type it is, and they found a couple spots on her lungs. She has done chemo, and now it’s just about maintenance and keeping them shrinking instead of growing.”

Karen Hicks' battle, and her family’s experience, is one of many, which is why she’ll be joined by hundreds of breast cancer survivors on the field in a powerful pregame ceremony. Anne Liddle, wife of bench coach Steve Liddle, will serve as the Tigers’ honorary bat girl in recognition of her battle with HER2-positive breast cancer for the past two years. Stephanie Samuel-Lucas, a six-time breast cancer survivor, will perform the national anthem.

The Tigers are holding a ticket sale for Friday’s game (against the Blue Jays at 7:10 p.m. ET) to help raise support for breast cancer research. For every $15 ticket sold at tigers.com/pink, a portion will be donated to the Karmanos Cancer Institute, the largest cancer care and research network in Michigan.

John Hicks knows the impact of cancer research. His mom will be undergoing immunotherapy as part of her upcoming treatment. His father has been by her side for every round of treatment.

“When she found out the first time, I was in Spring Training with Seattle,” he said. “And that time, I didn’t get to see a lot of the stuff that she went through, because I was gone. That was the time when the treatment was the worst. She had radiation and chemo at the time, and it took it out of her really bad. I wasn’t there for that one, but since then, I’ve been home a couple times where she’s gone through it.

“Obviously it’s saving her life, but it’s also wearing her down. It’s a give-and-take. She’s been through the ringer.”