Growing up I thought the world of my grandfather. My grandfather worked as a dermatologist at Scott & White Clinic and every person I met would tell me how wonderful and helpful he was. When I was younger, I was compared to my grandfather due to my quiet demeanor and analytical personality. I appreciated the comparison because I wanted to be just like him. He would attend my soccer games, teach me Spanish every Friday, and congratulate me on my school work. When I was 11, he was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. He was given less than a year to live and the news devastated me. I wanted to grow up and share all of my life with him, but I knew that he would not be there to cheer me on. He passed away days before my twelfth birthday. After his death, my grandmother would ask me if I was going to continue on my grandfather’s legacy and become a doctor. I never had a passion for medicine so I would always laugh and change the subject but it soon became difficult for me. He was able to cheer people up and be kind to everyone. I wanted to serve others like he did but I felt no passion towards medicine. This internal conflict made me feel like I was failing him, and I was failing to continue the good work that he had done in the world. My grandfather’s pancreatic cancer was caught late and by the point it was detected, it had spread to other organs in his body. Had he been screened for pancreatic cancer, the disease could have been caught and he would have been more likely to survive. Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the United States, however, with the knowledge and technology that we have, this should not be the case. Spreading awareness and information on cancer is important because it can save lives, and by screening people earlier for common types of cancers, we have the chance to catch cancer earlier. I want to join the Texas 4000 leadership development program and cycle to Alaska to fight cancer because I want to help improve cancer screening programs in my local community. I want to ride to honor my grandfather and help spread knowledge about the ways to get screened for cancer so that we can help others. I want to be able to teach people about the resources available to them when they, or a loved one, is diagnosed with cancer. Cancer hurts everyone. By spreading awareness and teaching others about the best ways to not only prevent common types of cancer, but ways to get screened so that if someone gets cancer they will have a better outlook. I have always wanted to help others and live a life like my grandfather’s. After years of reflection, I realized that I do not have to follow in his career path to continue his legacy and the work that he did for his community. I do not want my grandfather’s story to be anyone else’s. Being a part of Texas 4000 would allow me to spread a message of hope, and potentially save lives in a way that I could not have imagined beforehand.