Cancer was not just a diagnosis—it was a long chapter in a relentless story. Her seventh battle. Seven times she had faced a grim prognosis and come out the other side stronger, more defiant, and more committed to life. Each time, the fight got harder. Each time, she found herself pushing harder—fighting with everything she had because surrender was never an option. But this time, it was different.
The doctors, they were amazed at how long she’d survived, living longer than anyone else they met with Lynch syndrome, the genetic condition that had caused so many of her cancer diagnoses. It was a disease that worked silently, lurking in her genetic code, waiting for the right moment to strike. And strike it did. But even in the face of an inoperable tumor, when there were no more surgeries or treatments left to try, she refused to stop fighting.
This time, the battle would not be won with medical interventions. Yet, she still fought—not just for herself, but for the people she loved, for the life she cherished. And in that fight, she found power in something unexpected: art.
We discovered that art could be an incredible source of strength. What began as a simple way to pass the time became a tool of resilience. Drawing, cartooning, and creating became ways to process the emotions too complex to put into words. Art didn’t just help her pass the time; it became a way to channel her energy, to focus on the here and now, to laugh and to feel alive in a world that had shifted so dramatically.
The beautiful thing about art is that it doesn’t require perfection. It’s not about creating a masterpiece. It’s about the process—the act of creating something, anything, that feels true to you in the moment. It’s about using art as a tool to heal, to release, and to remind yourself that you can still fight, even when things feel impossible.
Through her strength, she taught me the most important lesson of all: the real power isn’t in the victory—it’s in the fight itself. And sometimes, that fight is about finding joy in the simplest things. So, we laughed. We drew. We created. And in those moments, cancer couldn’t win.
