Pushing Forward Through Cancer

Emma Reese was two weeks from her 28th birthday when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2016. She had just been married the year prior and her daughter was six months old.

At first, she was numb to the news, but she pushed through and went into “go mode” because she had treatment to start and a baby to care for. After completing chemo and beating cancer for five years, Emma had a recurrence in 2021. Fortunately, she fought through it and has been in remission since 2022. 

The biggest challenge for Emma has been post-treatment survivorship, particularly the feelings of anxiety and of having no control over cancer. She started joining support groups and eventually found Epic Experience, whose mission is to empower survivors to live beyond cancer through outdoor adventure. She attended their weeklong camp in the Rocky Mountains this past summer where she learned that “Life can be unfair. You can let it keep you down or you can learn from it. This is out of my control, so I put one foot in front of the other and just kept pushing forward. You can do hard things. Reach out, you are not alone. There are people that love and support you that you don’t even know yet.”

Learn more about how Epic Experience empowers cancer survivors to live beyond cancer at www.epicexperience.org