My entire world changed on March 22, 2024 when I got the results back from a biopsy and was officially diagnosed with cancer (and a cancer I’d never even heard of, at that!). While I was absolutely shocked by the diagnosis, I’m not surprised I’d never heard of it before—sarcoma is extremely rare and accounts for only 1% of adult cancer diagnoses; the type of sarcoma I have accounts for 1% of that 1%. What can I say? I’m exceptional, apparently. 

Since that day my life has been consumed by 2 surgeries, 6 MRIs, 4 CT scans, 3 x-rays, 1 PET scan, 5 weeks of radiation treatment (25 treatments total), quite a few breakdowns, an assortment of hospital bracelets, a lot of hobbling around on crutches, and too many needles and bloodwork panels to keep track of. It’s also been full of beautiful times spent fully in the moment with family and friends. A cancer diagnosis is a scary thing, but it also makes you really reevaluate what’s important in life and truly appreciate things that may have been taken for granted or gotten lost in the stress and chaos of the day-to-day. It teaches you the most important lesson in life: time isn’t promised. My final surgery, a major procedure that involved a tumor resection and skin flap, took 8 hours and required a weeklong stay in the hospital, but doctors were able to get clean margins. However, since most sarcomas are extremely aggressive and have a high rate of recurrence, I’ll continue to have an MRI and CT scan every 3 months to monitor for potential recurrence or metastases. I’ll also continue to live in the moment, cherish the time I have with my family and friends, and not take a thing for granted. 

I’m very blessed to live in an area that is so close to some of the best hospitals and doctors in the world; I’ve had the most incredible team of oncologists and sarcoma specialists with me through this journey, and the constant support of family and friends, but I know everyone isn’t so lucky. If my story makes an impact on even one person to do a bit of research, or get involved by donating their time or money, then it’ll be worth it. I highly encourage everyone to spend some time learning about sarcoma, and getting invoked in whatever way they can, because it could literally safe a life. 💛🎗️🌻

Thanks to the Race to Cure Sarcoma events, SFA has invested over $20 million in sarcoma research, funding over 200 grants in 12 countries leading to close to 200 total publications, adding to the sarcoma research discourse. This has led to $26 million+ in additional funding, 10+ clinical trials with 5 additional pending, and 2 patents. Your investment in the RTCS events, is an investment in saving lives.