Last week, I have got the chance to attend a seminar held in the GUC campus by Run For Yellow GUC club. The seminar called "Tumor Slayers", showcasing two touching success stories for cancer survivors that fought for the right to live a good live. Omar Sharawy (Ignite coach) & Ahmed El-Ghobashy (GUC TA) were our heroes for the day.
Omar is a two-times cancer survivor who managed to become a performance specialist and fitness coach at Ignite Egypt. Moreover he managed to become a fat loss specialist and hypertrophy specialist.
Ahmed is a cancer survivor, engineer and travel enthusiast. He has discovered cancer by coincidence when he was traveling abroad for his Bachelor's degree.
What is Omar's story?
He is a second time cancer survivor! Graduated on 2015 from Marketing major, working in a Marketing Research multinational firm. Accompanied his mother to the Dermatologist for her visit. Then, the doctor spotted that Omar has some swollen spots on his neck. And to cut a long story short, he has found that the inflammation he was diagnosed by long time ago is a cancer. The pathology tests revealed a stage 4 cancer and the treatment plan should stay for 6 months with a chemotherapy session every two weeks. Despite his diminishing immunity levels, his cancer has started to vanish.
Because of this medical journey, he had to leave his job and put his career aside. After the 6 months came to an end, he has found that his cancer is more aggressive than expected and the treatment plan should be doubled to a year instead. The type of chemotherapy has changed from the 4 hour one to the 5 hours one. One of the side effects of the aggressive treatment was hearing loss which led him to stop the treatment immediately and undergo another scan. The scans showed that he is cancer free for the first time!
After this chemotherapy protocol comes the bone marrow, where he stayed on the waiting list for almost a month with a risk to relapse again. In room 528 he did his bone marrow surgery. And in room 528 he has learned the most important life lessons ever, such as: feeling gratitude and being patient. Later on, he has decided to take fitness as his new career. Building his muscles one at a time!
After this long journey, he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that is not curable and makes him look as if he is taking a daily chemotherapy dose. And on the next scan he got another tumor even after the bone marrow. Which led him to another 4 months of chemotherapy and another announcement of being cancer free for the second time!
What is Ahmed's story?
He was traveling to Germany for his bachelor's project and while hiking he felt severe leg pain. Unbearable pain that led him to cry out loud at some point and thought of committing suicide. He decided to not tell anyone from his family in Egypt about his pain till he finishes his project. However, the pain started to become unbearable and he has to do an MRI. He has no medical insurance, so he decided to come back to Egypt to do his scans.
After the scans, he has found that he has a tumor in his back which is causing the unbearable pain. So, instead of finalizing his bachelor's and masters in Germany and pursuing his career in Europe, he has to stay in Cairo to get his treatment. Which was a mix of both chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and bone marrow. To be specific 18 sessions of chemotherapy and each session stays for a whole week.
With the help and support of his friends, he was able to complete his bachelor's remotely and now he is a Teacher Assistant at the GUC!
What is Run For Yellow?
Run For Yellow was co-founded in 2010, supporting the international organization of LIVESTRONG. Lead by Louay Ali, LIVESTRONG leader in Egypt & MENA, and his team. The GUC team started their mission last year (on 2017).
What is Run For Yellow main aim?
Our main aim is to:
Fight the cancer phobia.
Show cancer that it picked the wrong fight with the wrong people.
Show that we're much stronger than it is.
Show how united we are for this cause.
What is Run For Yellow mission?
Our missing is to:
Empower cancer fighters and support them psychologically throughout their fight.
Reduce the stigma around cancer and bust myths around it.
Raise awareness in our society about cancer.
Introduce the concept of running not just for self but for helping others as well.
What do you do specifically as Run For Yellow to pursue your mission?
We do many different activities that includes the following:
Organize indoor and outdoor events.
Organize runs, walks and bike rides ( for free ) to support cancer patients and anyone who is affected by cancer.
Organize awareness events everywhere to motivate and inspire people about our mission.
What is LIVESTRONG (your mother foundation) main aim?
LIVESTRONG is keen to support today instead of tomorrow's medication. So is Run for Yellow the localized organization. Being a part of our events will not only be beneficial for you but also and most importantly for the people around you.
How my presence will make a difference?
If you are a cancer fighter and you are going to join our events , your presence will be a main reason for killing the stigma that the society has on cancer patients. You are empowering others that are diagnosed and lost hope in life, you are a strong fighter who is pushing and not giving up, YOU ARE EVERYONE'S HERO!!
If you are a cancer survivor, you are the hope, the light, the strength, the persistence, the guidance and above all the SUPPORT for your fellows who are still fighting.
If you are a supporter, be proud to run for such cause. You are sending a great message with a fearless heart "no matter how strong cancer is, in our unity there will always be strength, hope and power".
What would be your final words and how can we contact you?
With Run for Yellow, Learn how to transform the lives of many people who are waiting for someone to knock their doors.
For more info you can Bahy Aly on this phone number 01226836555 or share with him an email on bahy@runforyellow.org.