Abby Lipschutz

We had been married less than three weeks when we entered the oncologists office holding hands and starry-eyed, having just returned days ago from our honeymoon. Battling brain cancer certainly wasn’t what we bargained for in our first year of marriage, but leaning on the strength of our love and friendship, we have been able to take it on with a vengeance. We are partners in this battle and in the survival of each day. At first, we felt quite isolated, from not only our friends, but also from the cancer community as we experienced it. Everyone dealing with cancer appeared to be our parents’ age or older. Where were the young people? And not the pediatric cases, but the young adults? We were just not represented. And because of that we felt alone. It wasn’t until we discovered Planet Cancer that we find a place where we felt understood and comfortable speaking about the issues we were dealing with. We were fortunate to attend the first retreat in the country for young couples facing cancer together, thanks to Planet Cancer. It allowed us to share with other young couples and find a little humor in a scary time. We want Planet Cancer to reach every one in their 20s and 30s battling cancer and we ride in Tour de Lis to help support their unique mission. We are grateful for their mission.