I never liked the phrase “fighting a battle with cancer”. As a 15 year old with Leukemia, I felt that it limited me to two outcomes: I could win, or I could lose. That if I didn’t fight hard enough, the outcome was on me. During my 2+ year treatment, I faced long hospitalizations, social isolation, infections, and side effects that challenged my mind, my body, and my spirit every day. I also watched the emotional toll that it took on my parents, my four siblings, and all of those who loved me. In that time, I learned that the cancer wasn’t the battle. The reality of every day was. The battle against your mental health, to get nutrition into your body, to walk from your bed to the couch when you are too weak to stand, and the emotional toll of befriending fellow patients only to say goodbye to some just months later.

My own experience with cancer led me to a 9 year career as a Pediatric Oncology nurse, where every day I cared for children battling to go back to school, to get to prom, to their friends and to college. Beyond that, parents battling financial hardships from treatment costs, and siblings battling to spend time with each other. I’ve met so many children and families with an infinite will to live, who had overcome side effects and relapses and more hardship than anyone should have to face, only to succumb to their disease and be described as “losing”.

The truth is, Cancer is full of hundreds and thousands of battles that are faced by patients every minute of every day. This, all while maintaining hope that there is a treatment option that could bring a cure. It has touched everyone’s life in someway, whether it be your loved one, your coworker, your neighbor or your friend.

This October, I’ll be fighting for a cause that is incredibly close to my heart. The “Alex’s Team” Foundation, Inc. (ATF) was founded in June 2002 in memory of Alexandra Jane Miliotis, who died of Leukemia at just 16 years old. This unique organization funds the front lines of pediatric oncology through the creation of innovative programs in clinical care and research that all share one common goal: to find a cure for pediatric cancer. By supporting my fight in the ring, the Alex’s Team Foundation can continue to fund groundbreaking research into pediatric cancers at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, help support the families of children going through cancer treatment, and provide support and educational opportunities to Pediatric Oncology Nurses and Physicians. This multifaceted approach allows influence in all aspects of the Pediatric Cancer community.

While we can’t control the outcome for these patients, we can control how we choose to support them.