As anyone that has an experience with cancer knows - in the moments of diagnosis or treatment, patients and their loved ones simply keep their heads above water and make it to the next day. No matter the length of time that journey lasts or whether it ends in survival or death, the need for psychosocial support and emotional healing becomes unavoidable.

In December of 2011, when I was twelve years old, my dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was given six months to live. The unwavering support of our family and friends, immense dedication of his doctors, and of course my mom, his tenacious patient advocate, gave him the gift of three more years of life. With every new development in his case or surgery he underwent, our loved ones experienced emotional highs and lows that at the time, I personally could not comprehend.

Six years after his death, I found Twist Out Cancer - the community of resilient individuals that gave me the opportunity to begin to heal from the experience of my dad’s sickness and death. Twist Out Cancer provides psychosocial support to anyone touched by cancer through creative arts programming. Its ability to bring those with similar experiences together and articulate cancer beyond what words can tell, enables the capacity to share, connect, and heal. Twist Out Cancer has taught me to look beyond what cancer took from me and truly see all that it gave me. It gave me an incredible amount of strength and perspective that has undoubtedly made me a more compassionate, authentic, and resilient individual.

In honor of the love, spirit, and unrelenting will that my dad, mom, siblings, and each of our loved ones put forward throughout my dad’s cancer experience, I will be competing in three CrossFit events from May-August, alongside one of the most supportive friends in the game, Katie DeLorenzo. We will be fundraising through the summer to donate to Twist Out Cancer to help propel its mission into its next decade. Please join us in an effort to provide others with the opportunity to share, connect, and heal!

To learn more about Twist Out Cancer, its mission, and program offerings, visit www.twistoutcancer.org.