Thanks for taking the time to check out my 2022 Cycle for Survival hub.
Gosh. I hate rare cancers.
They’ve robbed so many I’ve loved of opportunities for long, full lives. And they’ve cloaked loved ones, friends, and colleagues in anxiety and pain.
As many of you know, my incredible Mom has been living with Stage IV lung cancer since July of 2019. Sounds impossible right? Thanks to ongoing research, Mom’s care team was able to test and confirm that she’s part of a small population with a gene mutation that makes her a candidate for alternative therapies. Thanks to a daily pill, we went from a prognosis of having mere weeks with Mom, to witnessing the miracle as Mom has become one of her oncologist’s longest living patients on her current medication.
Nothing quite prepares you for all of the “what if”s of a cancer diagnosis. What if this is the last holiday? The last phone call? What if the pain your loved one tries to hide from you becomes too much?
But thanks to researchers like those funded by Cycle for Survival, our family has had the opportunity to invite new “what if”s into our experience. What if the science continues to improve? What if this treatment plan is enough to get us to the next medical breakthrough? What if the miracles keep coming?
One thing is never in question, though: Nancy Stinger is a badass.
She’s been a teacher, an artist, a saleswoman, a fund-raiser, a politician, a model, and a mom who somehow didn’t give up on her exuberant, opinionated, vivacious, mood-swinging youngest son.
She survived breast cancer—twice!— over 30 years ago, when the available treatment options looked nothing like they do today.
While battling lung cancer, she also had a brush with ovarian cancer, and fought back hard as hell.
So, as I gear up for some opportunities to fight back and fund research much like the kind that gave us years we didn’t think we’d get with my Mom, I’m so thankful to SoulCycle for the opportunity to bring a physical practice I love to an organization working towards a cause I care about immensely. And I'm so thankful to you for your support—whether you join a physical or virtual team, spare a few dollars, or just send an encouraging message, please know that every action helps, and is deeply appreciated.