People often ask me why I chose to work for Cancer Can't. The answer is simple: Cancer has touched nearly every part of my life.
I started working for Cancer Can't in August of 2019. At the time, I knew I wanted to be part of something meaningful. I wanted to help people. I wanted my work to matter. What I didn't realize then was just how personal this mission would become for me.
My dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer in August of 2003. I was young, and I remember thinking that once treatment was over, life would go back to normal. It didn't.
More than 23 years later, he is still fighting that battle. Throughout those years, our family learned what it means to live with cancer, not just for a few months, but for decades. We've experienced surgeries, treatments, waiting rooms, hopeful appointments, disappointing news, and the emotional roller coaster that comes with wondering what comes next.
Cancer has never really left our family. It has simply changed form over the years.
Then, while my dad was still navigating his own cancer journey, my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer. Suddenly, our family wasn't facing one cancer diagnosis, we were facing two.
Watching both of my parents battle cancer at the same time changed me forever. Cancer doesn't just affect the patient. It affects spouses, children, families, emotions, finances, transportation, work, and everyday life. It changes holidays, vacations, birthdays, and even ordinary Tuesday afternoons. It becomes part of every conversation and every decision.
Three years ago, my mom lost her battle with lung cancer.
There are no words that truly explain what it feels like to lose your mom. Cancer stole moments, memories, and years we should have had together. There are birthdays she'll never celebrate, grandchildren she'll never watch grow up, and countless memories we'll never get to make.
Losing her changed our family forever, but it also strengthened my purpose.
That is why I work for Cancer Can't.
Every hotel night we provide, every ride to treatment, every support program, every volunteer, every donor, and every conversation matters because I know firsthand what families are going through.
I know what it feels like to sit in waiting rooms hoping for good news. I know what it feels like to hear words that change your life forever. I know what it's like to wish there was just one less thing to worry about.
Cancer Can't exists to ease some of that burden.
I am incredibly proud to work for an organization that helps cancer patients focus on healing instead of how they will get to treatment, where they will stay, or how they will make it through another difficult day.
This work is not just my job. It is personal. It is my passion. It is my way of honoring my mom and finding purpose through my dad's continued strength and perseverance. And it is my promise to every family facing cancer that they don't have to walk this journey alone.
This is my why.
