The Monday after I submitted my Haymakers for Hope application, I attended the funeral for a colleague’s father who died from cancer. For months she coordinated his care, taking him to and from the doctor and staying by his side, masked for the pandemic. Also during these pandemic months, my uncle was diagnosed with a slow-growing cancer. He has since spent the summer enjoying his outdoor hobbies in anticipation of the treatment that lies ahead. Then, on a recent run, I learned my dear neighbor was diagnosed with the same cancer as my uncle. A few days after my summer birthday, an explosion occurred at Rockton Chemtool just a few miles from where I grew up. Plumes of smoke could be seen as far as two counties away and burned for days. As many as 175 firefighters from 45 different departments responded. I wonder how the environmental damage will continue to affect my home town and whether cancer cases will eventually surface.

All of this got me thinking what on earth is going on, and how awful that friends and family are having to deal with cancer on top of a pandemic. But then H4H also got me thinking about how much cancer has always been around. So many kinds of cancer. Among the people I know, there’s been breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, multiple myeloma, thyroid cancer, bladder cancer, and skin cancer. Over the years, I’ve been to two other funerals for friends who lost close members of their family to cancer. Several other friends have lost parents to cancer in the years since I’ve known them or during their childhoods. Members of my extended family have survived and lost their battles with cancer. People I’ve worked with closely or admired have lost their lives to cancer. I even lost my beloved childhood dog, a German short-haired pointer named Chuckles, to cancer, and as an adult, I lost my greyhound, Ripley, to cancer. The older I get the more ways cancer shows up in my life. 

H4H provided an opportunity for me to achieve a personal goal while also helping to raise funds for an important cause. I’ve enjoyed boxing workouts for fun and fitness for years, but training for a fight is challenging me to take my conditioning and skills to a whole other level. I’m grateful for all the support I’ve received throughout this journey, and I appreciate any contributions you can make towards this important cause. And for those in the area, I hope to see you at the fight!

(Enter my last name for the code when purchasing tickets.)