I have fought my own battle outside the ring for years. As a two-time cancer survivor, I had prayed that one day I'd be healthy enough to get in the ring. During all of my trials and tribulations, I turned to my passion to stay healthy ... boxing. It's time to fight again and to promote awareness for the cancers that people know very little about.

What most don't know is that even through chemo/radiation after uterine cancer and multiple myeloma, when my scalp was covered in sores and with my body completely failing, I boxed. That's passion. This sport takes heart and it takes courage, so win or lose, nobody can take that from me.

I am blessed to have such an amazing support system who have remained in my corner since my first diagnosis. I'm unbelievably excited for this journey and am grateful to share my story and fight for something that means the absolute world to myself and my family. I have fought for my life, fought to stay positive and it's time to fight for the most incredible cause.

I want to live every single day to the fullest. I have crossed off so many things on my bucket list for 2017 and I don't plan on stopping any time soon. I've changed careers to follow my dreams, I've become a trainer, ran my first half marathon, worked on living a stress-free and positive life to remain in remission and now I'm prepping to get in the ring.

Two days before my cousin had passed, I told him that I had submitted an application for this event. He told me that knowing I'm doing something I love makes him smile and that he would always be in my corner holding my spit bucket. I'm truly devastated that he won't be by my side for this journey. But this one, and all the ones to come are for my cousin Teddy and my father, Paul.

I'm fighting for myself, for my family who has given me strength and support I so desperately needed, for every nurse and oncologist who greeted me with a smile during my lowest of lows, for those second and third opinions, for the bone marrow donors who so willingly gave of themselves for me to survive, for every single scar that has made me the woman I am today ... I'm fighting for all of it!