03/20/2019 By Arianna Giorgio

I am a performing artist and 2x lymphoma and brain cancer survivor. I was diagnosed when I was 18 and at 25 I am now 4 years in remission. My first journey took me through chemo, radiation and 16 surgeries. During this time I chose to stay in full-time music school as I knew I needed to continue doing what I loved rather than sitting in a hospital bed waiting to die.

After going into remission for 2 months I was diagnosed a second time and deemed terminal. I decided not to continue treatment so I could live out my time feeling fully myself. I began to adopt the perspective that if this cancer was meant to kill me it would, and if it wasn’t meant to kill me, it was meant to teach me a lesson. So I decided to find that lesson, learn through it, and apply it to my life.

I also started thinking of the science of my body and how I could create an environment that cancer cells couldn’t live in such as making my body alkaline and my blood oxygenated.

Cancer is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

It has given me the ability to love myself, to ask for help and to heal wounds that held me back from feeling worthy of love. Being in remission and looking “healthy” now to others can turn this into an isolating and invisible disease so as a survivor I feel it is my responsibility to give support to those still fighting, honor those who have been taken, and spread awareness to our supporters.

GRYT is going to full-time music school during treatment because you won’t let cancer steal your dreams.

GRYT is being able to ask for help without feeling ashamed.

GRYT is knowing you are worthy of love.

GRYT is saying no to the traditional medicine that didn’t work and healing cancer yourself.