In February 2022, I lost my best friend, my soul sister and my daughters Auntie Jess, to Stage 4 Triple Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer.  

Jess was diagnosed at the age of 25.  I will never forget the day she sat on my couch and told me she had breast cancer.  We cried and laughed and held each other tight.  Than I vowed she would never fucking fight alone.  Very quickly into her cancer journey Jess had this beautiful, inspiring way of facing fear. It wasn’t that she wasn’t afraid. She was scared like the next person. But she never let fear win. Instead, she recognized the fear, took 10 seconds to let it soak in, opened her beautiful blue eyes, and faced the fear with a fierce resilience. Every single time there was a setback, a failed trial or treatment, a loss of a dear friend fighting alongside her or an overextended hospital visit, Jess read, she wrote, she confronted and then… she rose above it and came back stronger. And she did it all with a glowing smile on her face, laughter, and a middle finger raised high in the air saying #fuckcancer.

Jess hated showing any weakness even while fighting the worst disease this world could throw at you. She never wanted people to feel sorry for her or heartbroken by her suffering. She wanted to inspire with her courage and she was empowered by the outreach of support.  And thats what she did.  She inspired so many. 

“You Fight, I Fight” something Jess's husband always said to her and we all adapted it. We vowed to Jess to never stop fighting, and so I fight for Jess.  I'm stepping into the ring with a smile, laughter and a middle finger raised high in the air screaming FUCK CANCER.