Rino, Italy

I found out I had cancer on May 22, 2024.

For weeks, my body had been trying to tell me something was wrong. The back pain wouldn’t let me sleep. Then came the night sweats — so intense I had to change my pajamas three times a night.

It started with something small: pain and stiffness in my testicle. I got it checked, and my life changed in a moment.

The scans showed the cancer had already spread — to my lymph nodes, my lungs, my liver.

Suddenly, everything became real.

In July, I began chemotherapy. Four hospitalizations.

I lost 7 kilos.

I lost my hair.

I lost part of my eyebrows.

I fought constant nausea and more days of vomiting than I can count.

But I never lost the will to fight.

Cycle after cycle, step by step, we pushed back.

And in the end, we won.

Today I’m in follow-up, living with awareness and gratitude. Of course, the fear never completely disappears — it whispers sometimes — but it no longer controls me. I’ve learned to give every problem the right weight and every day the right value.

I gained back my strength.

I gained back my body.

I went back to surfing, skiing, moving, living.

Because now I know something I didn’t know before:

Every single day is a gift.

And while I’m out there living, I remember that somewhere someone else is still in a hospital bed fighting their battle.

So I live harder.

I appreciate more.

I don’t postpone happiness.

Because surviving isn’t just about beating cancer —

it’s about choosing to truly live afterward.