The Community I Needed, the One We Built Together

At 29, my world was upended by a diagnosis of gray zone lymphoma, a rare blood cancer affecting fewer than 200 people worldwide. In an instant, I was thrust into a place of profound isolation and fear, and yet within that darkness, something unexpected took hold: a quiet, stubborn inner strength I hadn’t known was there.

That experience navigating a rare cancer diagnosis as a young adult made one thing impossible to ignore.

People facing cancer needed connection.

They needed support. They needed community. That realization became the foundation of Twist Out Cancer, a space built on empathy and shared experience, where the creative arts serve as a genuine mechanism for healing and where individuals are invited to reclaim their own stories.

To our Inspirations: You are the heart of everything we do. Your courage in the face of adversity, your willingness to open up and share the most vulnerable parts of your journey, these things move us deeply, every single time. You refuse to be defined by illness. You embody strength, resilience, and the indomitable spirit of what it means to be human. Tonight, we celebrate you.

To our Artists: Your talent is extraordinary, and your empathy even more so. The work you create goes far beyond representation on a canvas. You capture pain, uncertainty, resilience, and hope all at once, and in doing so, you create something that offers real comfort, real solidarity, and real beauty in the face of suffering. We are in awe of what you bring to this community.

Twist Out Cancer has always been about more than art. It is a movement rooted in advocacy, awareness, and genuine human connection. It is about fostering empathy, building bridges between strangers, and giving people the tools and the space to rewrite what their cancer experience means to them.

If this resonates with you, we hope you’ll join us.

Twist Out Cancer’s next Brushes with Cancer event is coming to Philadelphia this fall.

Stay connected at http://twistoutcancer.org and follow us on social media so you’re the first to know when registration opens.

Whether you come as an Inspiration, an Artist, or a supporter, there is a place for you in this community.