Cancer touches every family.

I grew up not really thinking much about cancer. And then all of a sudden, it feels like cancer is everywhere. I’m sure many of you reading this have people in your lives that have been impacted by cancer. My mother is a cancer survivor. My aunt is a cancer survivor. My mother-in-law is a cancer survivor. We just lost my father-in-law this year to cancer. I'm also a cancer survivor.

My bout with cancer.

In many ways, my cancer diagnosis in 2016 was a tremendous gift. At least, I choose to see it that way. I underwent 11 months of treatment and entered remission. My wife and I also welcomed our first child in 2017, and 15 months later, our second. Coincidently, life has been incredibly rich ever since. Every day counts.

You're... Boxing?

At what point in our life do we decide to stop taking up something entirely new, and perhaps seemingly out-of-reach? I hope never. I never even remotely considered boxing prior to hearing about Haymakers for Hope. If I was going to take on a new sport at my ripe age of 40, something like squash felt right, ha. Boxing is a punishing sport. Not just the blows, but the training too. It's easily the most challenging athletic thing I have ever done. And I’ve only been at it for a few months now.

Why I Fight

Undergoing cancer treatment took a toll on my body. My joints hurt. I was exhausted all the time. My battered immune system allowed for infections to be a monthly recurrence. As any cancer survivor knows, the diagnosis and new reality took a mental toll as well. My self-esteem plummeted. And sure, as a new parent, the infamous Dad Bod became a reality. Sleep deficits and poor choices surrounding nutrition didn’t help. I’m definitely the type that needs a big goal to work towards, in order for (good) habits to set in, and positive change to follow. So, when I heard about Haymakers for Hope coming to Washington, DC… I was all in.When I think of living with intention, I think of never giving up. Fighting back. And I can't think of a better pursuit to let my kids know that Dad is going to fight this, and anything else, that comes in our way. 

The Fight

Fight night is September 19th, 2019, at the Anthem here in Washington, DC. I’ll be fighting in a US Boxing sanctioned amateur bout, one of 15 fights happening that night. If you're able to make it, grab tickets above on Ticket Fly and be sure to enter code VORA to get access. Proceeds from ticket sales go directly to support Haymakers for Hope.

If you’d like to help in my fundraising efforts, please consider making a small donation. Two things I like about Haymakers For Hope: 1) they allow each fighter to choose a benefiting cancer charity, and 2) 100% of the donations made go directly to the charity. I have chosen to raise money for the Lymphoma Research Foundation. If you know me, you know that I don’t do this sort of thing often. I appreciate your support!

Many thanks!

— Pranav

About Haymakers for Hope

We give everyday men and women the opportunity to fight back against this terrible disease by training for, and competing in charity boxing events to raise money and awareness. To prepare for each event, we combine the efforts of the first time amateur boxing participants, local boxing gyms and volunteers. We hope to help give life saving researchers the resources needed to fully focus their efforts on finding a cure.  Haymakers for Hope’s mission is to knockout cancer the only way we know how, by literally fighting for a cure.