Most days, I wake up knowing that I have one of the best jobs in the world. That is what makes days like this all the more brutal.
Even after three years of working at the Colon Cancer Alliance, it still hits me hard every time I get the news that we’ve lost one of our own. Every. Single. Time.
Today, we mourn the loss of the beloved Gloria Borges, 32-year-old founder of the WunderGlo Foundation and the true embodiment of a cancer warrior.
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After Gloria's speech at October's Colon Cancer Alliance National Conference, attendees rose to their feet in awe and applause.[/caption]
Days like this, I want to put my head down and sob at my desk. I want to scream about the unfairness. Sometimes I've even wanted to quit. But I haven't and I won't. Because the only thing worse than hearing another member of our community is gone would be giving up altogether.
Today, as we honor Gloria and the countless others who’ve been taken by this disease, I’m asking you to do something. Stand up with me and work that much harder in their memory; carry on what they started and help make sure this is a cancer that we beat, even if that victory isn't achieved today.
For me, I hope saying goodbye never gets easier. The day that I am able to shrug off a tragedy would be to lose the passion and the reason that I am here in the first place. If there is one good thing I can say about heartache, it’s that it reminds us why we're here, doing what we do.
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Gloria joins with friends at the National Conference Blue Party.[/caption]
It has been an amazing honor working alongside Gloria and all of you - from patients and survivors to caregivers and advocates. It is not a responsibility I take lightly or something I take for granted. Thank you for sharing in the passion and purpose that make this organization worthwhile. As we pause to remember Gloria, let us also strengthen our resolve to continue the work that was so important to her.
Katie Matusik
Communications Manager
Colon Cancer Alliance