My name is Chelsey Simoni — nurse, and the Chief Health Officer of the HunterSeven Foundation - a nationally-recognized cancer research, education, and medical organization serving our military veterans. This year, I’ve decided to enter the Haymakers for Hope charity boxing match in Boston on October 9th.

Why? Because cancer has already taken too much from our military community, and I’m here to fight back. Literally.

Through my work at HunterSeven, I’ve seen firsthand what cancer looks like in our nation’s heroes... the painful loss, heartbreak, delays in diagnoses and care. I’ve held the hands of young service members who deployed in peak physical health, only to come home and be diagnosed with rare, aggressive cancers.

It starts with one in seven diagnosed while still in uniform. But once they transition out? That number jumps to one in four.

And many of these warriors are overlooked due to their young, otherwise healthy appearances, making early cancer identification and screening nearly impossible to complete.

That’s unacceptable. That’s my motivation.

Every punch I throw in the ring is for them — for Air Force veteran Austin Wampler, who passed away days ago, on June 15th, from renal cell carcinoma at 39. For the warfighters who survived combat zones only to be blindsided by cancer at home. This fight is personal, and it’s far from metaphorical.

All donations through this link, my personal fundraising page, will directly support the HunterSeven Foundation’s cancer screening program, which provides early detection for post-9/11 veterans at the highest risk. We aim to find it before it spreads — to give these men and women a fighting chance.

Because they didn’t hesitate to fight for us.
Now it’s our turn to fight for them.