Gracie Johnson: Set with Inspiration for Life

Now a graduate student on the team, Gracie is playing in Melissa’s memory. There are flashes of pink in her game-day attire, and she wears multiple reminders of her mom each game, from a wristband to her shoes. First, on her wrist, is a bracelet that reads “Team Melissa” made by her uncle for the family. She and her roommate wear them every game. Second, her shoes.

“Something super special to me is that my coaches got me pink Nike KD shoes that are specific toward breast cancer,” Gracie said. “I wear those every day. Every time I look down, she might not be in the stands with me now, but it’s a reminder of how she lived life and how much of a fighter she was.”

Throughout Melissa’s fight, Gracie and her family continually saw the impact of cancer research done in the past, and the need for more research in the future. Gracie is thankful for the additional time she had with her mom while fighting, and attributes that additional time to cancer research. But, as Melissa had a rarer form of breast cancer, the need for more research was ever present.

“Cancer research is vital to Victory Over Cancer. My mom had one of the rarer forms of [breast] cancer, which is significantly less researched. I’m extremely grateful for the progress they’ve made medically to add years to her life, especially at stage IV and how aggressive it was.”

“Victory Over Cancer in the long run would be completely cancer free, no matter what diagnosis you get, stage one, stage four or where it is. But, it’s also adding years to individuals’ lives. My mom had an amazing five years after she was diagnosed. She was able to be present. Those extra years that she had to her life were extremely crucial. I credit that to the treatments and the research that was done. Those are small victories that you can take to the overall victory of being cancer free.”