You know that scene in some movies where the main character has an epiphany in the midst of chaos? You know, like there is literal riot occurring around him and he just stands there, lost within himself. The narrator drones on about the inner machinations of his mind and the camera pans in 360 degrees […]

Our ride year is actually starting and various feelings circulate in me. For one thing, I’m absolutely humbled by the constant waves of ride dedications at our weekly metings. I’m also unbelievably overwhelmed by the tragedy cancer causes. The stories never end and with every new account told of people dying from this merciless disease, people […]

With the recent outbreaks of the Ebola virus, the media has been bursting with vitality lately. Covering the first US diagnosis, journalists cite the symptoms of the fatal disease: high fever, vomiting, rash, muscle pains, and internal bleeding. Disease is just another humble reminder of our mortality as human beings. Within a blink of an […]

When I joined Texas 4000, I had little direct experience with cancer. There were a lot of unknown elements to the organization for me in regards to what to expect and what I would be able to give, but grounding me was simply the desire to do something for others with my time. Every day […]

Every Thursday, I have the privilege of volunteering with the Survivor’s Challenge, a free running program for kids who have survived cancer and their families. The goal is that after eight weeks of training, they will be able to complete a 5k together. This is where I was lucky enough to be paired with my […]

Last semester during volunteering I had many opportunities to meet a lot of my teammates and even when I finished the required hours I kept signing up for volunteer events because I enjoyed getting to know my teammates so much, and realizing how interesting they all are during the long rides to races or the […]

Hi all! Welcome to my first blog post! By the time you read this post, my teammates and I will have already spent approximately eight months as members of this extraordinary organization and will have only about eight months until we begin our physical journey to Alaska. Thus far, we’ve spent our time volunteering in […]

On September 11th 2009, my Aunt Elizabeth died of colon cancer. I was in 11th grade. On that day, I was aware that my mom had gone with Elizabeth to Dallas so that Elizabeth could undergo another operation, but I didn’t learn that Elizabeth had passed until bereaved family friends started showing up at my […]

Howdy everybody, I’m very late in writing this, in all honesty, because I’ve been dreading it. I’ve been dreading it because a lot has happened since I signed on with this amazing organization. A lot of really great things. And one particularly terrible thing. My father and namesake, John Adam Malonis Sr., died June 21, […]

What separates money donated directly to the MD Anderson Research Center and money donated through Texas 4000 are the intangibles: the spread of spirit and message. While donating directly to the Cancer Center is extremely noble, the only thing accomplished through this donation is a tiny dent in the money needed for cancer research. The […]