Profile

About: My name is Katy and I am a happy resident of Austin, Texas. I am currently in my fourth year of school at the University of Texas, working toward degrees in Radio-Television-Film and Anthropology. After I graduate, I hope to work as a documentary filmmaker. I am extremely excited about my involvement with Texas 4000 and I can't wait to see what this summer brings.

Why I Ride

All year long, my Texas 4000 teammates and I will be working hard to raise money for cancer research. I am eager to devote myself to this cause because, like millions of others, cancer has touched the lives of my family. Two years ago, my grandfather lost his life to cancer. He was suddenly diagnosed with stage IV cancer and he survived for only six more weeks. His health deteriorated so quickly, it was beyond understanding. It felt unfair that someone I loved was suffering like that. My grandfather always seemed especially healthy and he regularly had check-ups, and yet his cancer was diagnosed too late for him to undergo treatment. Losing him was very hard on my entire family, and I miss him more than I can say. Unfortunately, this is not the first time that cancer has impacted our family. When I was eleven years-old, my mother battled breast cancer. Thankfully, she was diagnosed while the cancer was still in its first stage, and she has been a survivor for over a decade now. To rid her body of this disease, my mother had to endure both radiation and chemotherapy treatment for six months. Despite all this, she continued to carry on normally with her daily life, including raising my siblings and I. I know now just how strong my mother was to go through so much. I want cancer research to continue so that more lives can be saved by more effective forms of diagnosis and treatment. I am in Texas 4000 for Cancer because I have the ability to act as a positive force in the cause to fight cancer and I believe our work this year will make a real difference in people's lives.