Cancer has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

As a teenager I watched my grandfather battle cancer. Not long after that, during the summer after our freshmen year of college, my best friend was diagnosed with leukemia. We were just kids dreaming of our futures.. She spent the next four years fighting for her life and she passed away when we were 23 years old.
Less than two years later, cancer became part of my story. At age 25 I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

I remember the fear and uncertainty, and the feeling that the trajectory of my life had changed forever. Fortunately I was able to overcome cancer, and still today at 42 years old, I am able to call myself a survivor.

But cancer was not finished with the people I love.

Over the years I have lost countless friends and family members to this insidious disease, including my mom, cousin and another best friend in a nine month span between August of 2021 and June of 2022. Most recently I lost a dear friend named Darcie to brain cancer in February. Each diagnosis, each battle, and each loss has strengthened my belief that no family should have to face cancer alone.

This is why I have chosen to step into the ring for Haymakers for Hope's Belles of the Brawl.

I am not a boxer. I am a cancer survivor. A daughter, a sister, an auntie, a friend and someone who has seen firsthand the devastation that cancer leaves behind. But with that, I also know what it means to fight.

I am fighting for everyone we have lost, and everyone who is currently facing a diagnosis and for the families who stand behind them. Cancer has taken too much from too many people I love and this is my opportunity to fight back.

Thank you for supporting me, standing in my corner and helping raise critical funds for cancer research, treatment, and support. Together we can make a different for the next person who hears the words, "You have cancer".