Just as the Houston Rockets prepare to dive into another NBA season, one of the familiar faces behind the team’s online presence has a personal setback. Social Media manager Hannah Peery has revealed that she has been diagnosed with skin cancer and is preparing for surgery later this month. For someone whose job revolves around documenting the Rockets every day, the timing makes the news hit hard.

Peery shared the news on Instagram while also asking the Rockets community to support a cause close to her during the difficult stretch.

“As I prepare for surgery later this month, I’m proud to be leading a team to walk in @mdandersoncancercenter’s Boot Walk to End Cancer,” she wrote. She invited followers to join her team for the 1.2-mile walk on November 14 or donate toward its fundraising effort.

She also thanked everyone who had reached out since learning about her diagnosis. “I also want to extend my sincerest gratitude to every single person who has reached out, sent a message, left a comment, or sent love/encouragement my way in any form during this time,” Peery wrote. “Every single word is deeply felt, and I appreciate you all from the bottom of my heart.”

There was another personal detail in the post. 

Peery shared photos of her father, Greg Perry, who battled cancer before losing his fight with the disease. That history gives her own diagnosis another layer as she prepares for surgery later this month.

Indeed, a difficult time for anyone. Especially for someone whose job revolves around the NBA’s relentless calendar. Peery travels with the organization, works around practices and games, and creates the BTS material that keeps fans connected to the players. A busy season was approaching. Now, her own health has forced an unavoidable pause.

For Rockets fans, though, Peery is more than the person managing the team’s social accounts.

Over five seasons with the Rockets, she rose through the organization’s digital operation. She eventually became one of the creative forces behind its more recognizable content. Her work includes the popular ‘Tiny Mic’ interviews and the ‘Day in the Life’ series featuring former Rockets center Boban Marjanovic. 

The Boban feature became one of her biggest successes. It generated more than 3 million impressions in its first three days. And ranked among the 10 most-viewed videos on the NBA App during the 2022-23 season. 

Now, Peery is using the same platform for something far more serious. Alongside discussing her diagnosis, she has encouraged people to pay closer attention to their skin. She urged getting it checked, particularly those with known risk factors, such as fair skin, a family history of skin cancer, or a large number of moles.

Her message points directly toward MD Anderson’s Boot Walk to End Cancer. The organization has scheduled the event for Saturday, November 14, at Houston’s Helix Park, with participants completing a 1.2-mile walk. The donations support cancer research, patient care, education, and prevention efforts.

The event has become a major Houston fundraising tradition. 

In 2025, more than 11,000 people participated in person, while the event raised more than $2 million. Since its launch in 2016, the Boot Walk has generated more than $17 million for MD Anderson programs. 

For Peery, leading a team for the walk while preparing for surgery makes the event deeply personal. Her father’s battle with cancer is part of that history. And now she is asking the community around her to help turn that experience into something useful for others.

For years, Peery helped the Rockets turn players, practices, and personalities into stories fans watched. This time, the story is hers. As she prepared for surgery and led her team at MD Anderson’s Boot Walk, the Rockets community had a very different reason to rally around one of its own.