(ENG) Life Experiences

Last April, I spent my holidays in New York, a city that I found I love so much for its many faces, all lying behind the appearance of a large, anonymous metropolis.

New York, the Big Apple, the city that never sleeps... it is musicals on Broadway, the New York City Ballet, concerts, museums, small private collections, the Knicks, baseball and its glorious history, Jacky Robinson ... but New York is also a walk on the High Line, eating tacos, and waiting for stargazing… New York is Corrado and its fantastic Pecan Pie… it’s the wild Central Park where you can go bird watching… it’s the Carniage Hall where the Beatles played ...

Working at LILT, New York was also an opportunity to get an insight of an American cancer charity: the American Italian Cancer Foundation. I’ve spent some time with them, joining their volunteer activities. I’ve realized that not only is their mission similar to LILT’s, but so is their approach to the cause, the criticalities and problems. Disbelief in prevention, fears against screening programs and clinical tests, the importance of a direct approach to people, are recurring elements, whether it's a city of 300,000 inhabitants or a metropolis of 8 million.

This volunteering experience, short but very intense and interesting, added so much value to my vacation that I decided to repeat it ... and that’s why I’ll return to New York for my upcoming Easter holiday. I’ll try the thrill of running in Central Park, but I’ll also have the chance to meet other people involved in the fight against cancer. Indeed, I believe that only by sharing our experiences, our knowledge, our ideas and even our own personalities, we could not only fight cancer, but defeat it!

The disease divides people: those who are ill and those who are not, those who survive and those who die, those who can afford treatments and those who cannot ... but just by staying united we can help and support each other, we can find solutions, solutions to address it, fight it, prevent it and, sooner or later, cure it.

The next post then will be from New York City! Follow me and I will introduce you to other amazing people stepping up against cancer!

P.S. a HUGE thank you to all of you supporting my race with donations, kind words and love. 
All contributions will support the Italian Cancer League activities to prevent and fight cancer, especially for those most in need.