Why I PMC - PJ Branco

#WhyIPMC guest blog by PJ Branco, first-year, Living Proof rider

 

In 2005, my mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Four years later, in 2009, my father was diagnosed with Colon Cancer. Then, in 2015, I was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer at the age of 26.

After seeing both of my parents fight off this disease, I thought my family was done with needing to worry anymore. The constant hospital visits, surgeries, chemo infusions, radiation therapy, and doctor's visits had taken a toll on all of us. A week after my diagnosis, I had surgery to remove my tumor, but opted out of chemotherapy because of the effects it had on both of my parents. Unfortunately, a few months later, signs of my cancer spreading cropped up and I inevitably had to go through chemo.

9 weeks of multiple infusions per week, traveling in and out of Boston, and through it all, the staff at Dana-Farber made me, and my family, feel like they were there just for us. Through all of the questions, the poking, the tests, and the changes in my condition, their patience, attentiveness, and level of care never wavered. Dana-Farber's commitment to personalized care is second to none, and their resources truly helped me and my family win our fights against cancer. All of these years later, my mom, dad, and I are all Living Proof because of the doctors, nurses, and staff at DFCI and MGH.