Wendy was diagnosed with Hodgkins Disease in 1999 and has celebrated over 20 years in remission. She found a lump in her neck while hunting in Marfa with her cousin. Hearing you have cancer are words no one wants to ever hear but her doctor followed it up by saying that it was a good cancer. He said that Hodgkins is curable if your body accepts these 4 certain drugs. After 3 rounds of chemotherapy and 5 weeks of radiation Wendy got a clear report and has thankfully been cancer free since 2000. She is so grateful for her amazing family and friends that surrounded her during this time and made sure she was never alone. Wendy gives all the praise to God and enjoys raising money for cancer organizations so more people hear the words she heard that it is a curable cancer. Wendy is an escrow officer at McKnight Title. She has a precious lab mix named Honey and enjoys traveling with friends and family. She says, “Live to put smiles on others’ faces and you will always have a smile on yours.”

My “why” comes from the people whose experiences have shaped the way I see this fight.

I think of a family member who faced cancer with quiet strength, and of others close to me whose lives have been disrupted by the realities of treatment, caregiving, and uncertainty. I also think of someone I work with who survived cancer at a young age and has spoken openly about how the experience reshaped her perspective long after treatment ended.

Together, these experiences have shown me that cancer does not discriminate. It affects people at every stage of life—individuals, families, colleagues, and communities—often when they least expect it.

That is why this cause matters to me. When cancer enters one life, the impact extends far beyond that individual. The way we honor those experiences, and work toward preventing others like them, is by coming together with purpose and commitment to drive change.

In my own life, as a wife, a mother, and in my role as a Sales Director at De Beers, I am continually reminded of what there is to protect and why progress in this area is so important. That perspective is what motivates me to participate in this effort.