"Everyone knows someone who has been affected by cancer"... These words hit closer to home than ever before in December of 2023 when my identical twin sister, Doris Fournier was diagnosed with non-small cell adenocarcinoma. Lung cancer. All I knew about lung cancer was that you did not survive it. My sister was one of the lucky ones. She discovered her diagnosis by chance after what she thought may have been a pulled muscle in her shoulder, ironically from taking a boxing class, but instead the X-ray revealed a cancerous mass the size of a quarter. It was only a matter of weeks before she had a biopsy and then a lobectomy, which saved her life. She remains on chemotherapy for another year or so and still fights every day for her health. While she has not put the boxing gloves down for good, I have decided to pick them up to fight for her this October.

My family has also been connected with a special person since my childhood, Barbara Sullivan, whom I lovingly called Barbie Doll in my childhood years. If you have ever met Barbara, you would never know by her contagious smile and positive attitude that she has been battling multiple cancers for many years. She is currently battling stage 4 liver cancer and is one of the biggest fighters I know!

Like all of you, I have also lost family and friends to this awful disease. These are my reasons why I have decided to fight in Haymakers for Hope.

In these next few months, I will be training hard for this event and raising money to help knockout cancer!

We all have our reasons "why". Thank you for being a part of mine.