When I was invited to participate in Sole 2 Soul for MPN on behalf of CURE, it was an instant yes. A no-brainer really. As an avid gym goer and young athlete, I was excited to take on my next challenge and test my limits on a new mountain. I just didn’t fully understand the impact this program would have on me. I have always had a passion for connecting with and helping others, especially patients with cancer and their loved ones, so CURE Adventures was a great opportunity for me to be introduced to a new group of people to learn about and take a journey with, both physically and on a more personal level. It was not until our first dinner in Colorado for the training climb that I realized that this was about to be so much more than I could have ever imagined. As we sat around the table sharing our stories, I already felt more connected to this group of people than some people I knew for decades. Ones who have had cancer for several years, some newly diagnosed, others whose family doesn’t know they even have cancer because it will kill them inside, and others there to support like me. To be present with patients who wake up every day knowing they must put on a smile for the ones they love and put on their boxing gloves to fight cancer, regardless of how they felt inside, touched my heart in a way that I never noticed when my parents were going through their journeys with cancer. It was true determination to just simply live. Something we often take for granted.

After letting the stories from the night before sink in, I was ready to take on this challenge even more with this group of people. So, we embarked on our 10-mile journey up to Lake Ouzel. As we reached the halfway mark up the mountain, my feet were already throbbing, my back ached, I was hungry, and I selfishly so badly wished I could just turn around to make my way back down the mountain. I couldn’t understand why I was enduring this pain just to say I made it to the top of the mountain. Then, it hit me. I wasn’t doing this for myself. That was selfish to ever think. I was doing it for my mother, a 12-year breast cancer survivor, for my father, who lost his battle to terminal cancer eight years ago after a 16-month fight. For this group of people here with me, many of which wake up and “climb a mountain” every day to defeat their cancer. For everyone who lost their battle to the disease, those who lost a loved one and were not able to attend, those still fighting, and those who have not even been diagnosed yet and don’t know that they too will have to wake up every day and climb this mountain. In that moment I forgot about my “problems” and the spark inside my soul lit up. I was moving so fast that I had to be told to slow down! I wanted to see the top of that mountain even more now!

I will never forget the feeling I felt when we made it to Lake Ouzel. Hugging my fellow participants. I had tears streaming down my face – a mix of accomplishment, love for the group, exhaustion, and honest confusion. It wasn’t necessarily that I was physically exhausted that made me cry, but it was the fact that this is the exhaustion patients with cancer feel on a daily basis, and that led to confusion – why is there still no cure for cancer? Although I always knew the premise behind CURE Adventures was to raise money and awareness for a cure, it’s even more so true to me now. We NEED a cure. It doesn’t seem fair to me that there are still people suffering from this disease. So, as we plan to embark on our next journey to Waterton National Park, I ask that you all think about donating, any amount, to help find a cure for cancer! I am hopeful that one day people will no longer suffer from this disease. I am done allowing cancer to weasel its way into the lives of our loved ones.