This year I?m doing something a little different ? I?m training for an Ironman 70.3!

On October 17, I?ll be racing in Wilmington, North Carolina. It?s a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride, and a half marathon to finish. I know it?s going to be uncomfortable and honestly pretty humbling at times, but the reason I signed up has very little to do with the race itself.

During PA school I spent time at MD Anderson Cancer Center, and that rotation stuck with me. I loved the medicine, but more than anything I remember the patients and families ? getting to know people while they were living through something incredibly hard. It changed how I see healthcare and the role you play in someone?s life during those moments. Over the past year, cancer stopped being something I saw in a hospital and became part of our family.

We lost my grandmother to lung cancer. From the time I was 2 years old until I was 25, she never missed a single event ? games, graduations, anything. She was my biggest cheerleader in every season of life.

On Sunday, February 15th, we lost my uncle. He was a gynecologic oncologist who spent his life taking care of people with cancer, and he?s the reason I believed I belonged in medicine. Becoming a PA was, in many ways, answering something he planted in me a long time ago. Seeing him face cancer himself changed how I understand this profession and what it means to show up for patients. I?ll carry that with me for the rest of my career.

When cancer hits your family, you spend a lot of time wishing you could do more. I couldn't take away what my uncle was facing, and I couldn?t change what happened to my grandmother, but I can choose to put effort toward something meaningful in honor of them.

I?m supporting GO2 for Lung Cancer because their work is focused entirely on lung cancer ? from research to patient resources and helping families navigate a diagnosis that can feel overwhelming.

If you feel led to contribute via buying a shirt, sharing it, or simply cheer me on during training or race day it would mean the world! More than anything, this is my way of honoring my grammie, standing beside my uncle, and giving 70.3 miles a purpose beyond a finish line!