January 2018 I was diagnosed with Stage 1 Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma. Thyroid cancer has a very impressive survival rate. But with any fight with the "C" word, Stress, fear, and all sorts of emotions come into play.

I underwent an 8 hour surgery to remove my thyroid and around 28 lymph nodes in my neck where the cancer spread to. From brain MRIs (to rule out metastization), routine blood labs ( I HATE NEEDLES), radioactive iodine treatment, and many trips to my wonderful Oncologist and Surgeon all in the first year, this really put my life into perspective for me.  

In December 2019 after a follow up neck ultrasound and biopsy, 3 lymph nodes came back positive for disease. In February 2019 I underwent another, more simple surgery to remove them.

One thing I always caught myself gravitating to was Jim Valvano's ESPY speech.. "Don't give up, don't ever give up!" Those words stuck with me through every appointment, every surgery, and every recovery. This inspired me to donate the proceeds of this years merch to the Jimmy V Foundation where 100% of donations go directly to cancer research.

Through all of this, the support from my family, friends, colleagues etc. kept me going in ways I will never be able to explain. 

Cancer won't be cured in a day, but maybe together, trough research we can put an end to this disease.

God Bless
John "Sparkz" Moriau