A message from our Founders

On Sunday morning, my father–the finest man I have ever known, my hero, my mentor, and the best friend I could’ve ever had–passed away. The last year and a half still seems unreal. But the past 4 months, in particular, were nearly as unfathomable as they were unbearable, as I watched him endure extensive treatments around the world, extreme diets, and nearly every supplement I found that might provide an ounce of benefit to edge-out even one extra day for him.

As piece by piece, he was taken from us, the cancer was unable to strip him of the essence of what made Dad, Dad: his kind heart, paradoxically combined with his powerful presence & leadership abilities. If anything, it shined through even brighter during our most trying times. He taught me so much through the way he conducted himself, to his very last day.

On the morning he passed, I was printing agendas for Day 2 of our national summit. While unbelievably gut wrenching, part of me felt as though it was yet another of Dad’s many contributions to changing lives though Take The Fight. At the end of the day, our induction ceremony was dedicated to Dad and to the 5 other students in the room, who had already lost parents to cancer, much earlier than I. This semester, and for decades to come, those 55 individuals and their legacies will be leading generations of America’s best college students to fight alongside America’s bravest patients, like Dad. What an incredible gift he left to impact literally hundreds of thousands of individuals over the years, including families and future physicians. As the Medical Director for Palliative Care for Oncology Patients of Wake Forest, Dr. Nathan Streer, said later that day, “Take The Fight is on the front lines of revolutionizing cancer care.”

As we discussed at the strategist induction ceremony, “the goal isn’t to live for ever; the goal is *to create* something that will.” Each one of these strategists is achieving that as they fight alongside patients and grow their chapters to massive numbers, to help patients to fight smarter. And Dad started it all. Dad, if you’re checking heaven’s internet: I will see you one day soon, and until then, I will be forever fighting, using all that you’ve taught me.

Passionately,
David Warren, on behalf of my father and best friend, Steve Warren
Founders, Take The Fight
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PS
I’ve had several loving offers for donating to Take The Fight to help us reach more students and more patients. We currently have 3 offices without *even one* paid full-time employee. We turn each nickel into $5,000 of impact, and we’ve successfully bootstrapped the entire organization, which is led by the most passionate and the brightest students in the nation. If you’re wishing to contribute to help people on the front lines of cancer combat, fighting alongside patients in life-or-death circumstances, please make checks payable to “Take The Fight” and mail to PO Box 20012, Winston Salem, NC 27120 If the donation is in memory of Dad or of someone you’ve lost to cancer, please write that in memo line so we know. We greatly appreciate you, and one day, we might be fighting alongside you or a loved one.