Our final finalist!
Please read Kim's story on what she is passionate about from her own words, I couldn't possibly do it justice.
Living. Three years ago I was diagnosed with colon cancer — from a routine screening colonoscopy with no real symptoms. My first meeting with the oncologist went something like this “ You are going to die. You should go ahead and quit your job and make the best of the short time you have left — because you are going to die in about 18-36 months and it isn’t going to be easy or pretty. What you have to look forward to is ‘chemo for life.’. Which is exactly what it sounds like. Fortunately for me, that didn’t turn out to be my story —a couple of second opinions, 27 rounds of chemo, 2 huge surgeries, two liver ablations and too many scans to count, I’m still here and thriving. Sadly, I’m in the minority — I really can’’t fault my first oncologist for the dire news — because for MANY young onset CRC patients a ticking bomb with a short fuse IS the reality! So why did I enter this contest? I want to keep living AND I want to raise awareness (including more money for research, earlier access to colorectal cancer screening (because even 45 is too late for many of us) and more education and awareness (for doctors and ‘patients’ … because, when caught early, CRC is highly treatable). So I’m sitting here on vacation in Arizona with my family — drinking my Hoplark and watching basketball … LIVING life to my fullest!). What can you do for me? I want you to do a branded limited edition Hoplark (preferably an awesome flavor in blue packaging) — and donate a portion of the proceeds to the nonprofit I volunteer with (Minnesota Colorectal Cancer Research Foundation) … or to any other of the fabulous nonprofits that raises money for colorectal cancer support (Paltown, Colon Cancer Coalition, Fight CRC).
And okay, I really hope you’ve read this far … because, here’s my best Hoplark story (aka how you freak your surgeon). I gave up alcohol when I was diagnosed, but quickly found your products and they have made me feel like I can still be social and also mean I don’t have to explain why I am not drinking … anyway, when I was in the hospital for my last surgery, I was terribly nauseous — and my husband brought me a “Calm One” (at my request). Well … there I am sipping my drink and in walks the whole surgical team. My husband was mortified as the surgeon started talking and then did a quick double take and asked ‘Wait!! Did your husband bring you … Are you drinking a craft beer?” Nope, I explained … and then they all wanted to try it! A great bit of fun and laughter for all of us (well except for me, because … you know, abdominal surgery:).
So, I hope you’ll consider contacting me … and developing something with me … let’s create some buzz … some fun … and some more visibility … for Hoplark and Colon Cancer!! Because what would bring me the most joy is making sure one less person has to deal with metastatic colon cancer, and that we all have more time to find our joy and more days to celebrate our time on this planet … all the good things!!
Stay tuned for our future projects with Kim and consider making a donation on our site to support.
Check out Kim's charities here:
colontown.org