What this is all about:
I want to thank all of you for supporting the second annual Cancer Match for Hope. I’m looking forward to sharing this event with you in order to create an educational space to raise awareness about cancer. One of the reasons for organizing Cancer Match for Hope is to raise money for cancer research. There is still a lack of understanding about what causes this disease and by supporting research, I hope that the public will be able to acquire more knowledge surrounding it. The event will also take place in order to provide a time for us to reflect on what we can do to give hope to those who are in need.

When I was 14, my mother died from lung cancer. One winter day of 1998, during class I received a notice from my school counselor saying that I should immediately return to Osaka (a city about one hour away from where I was attending school in Kobe) and go to the hospital where my mother had been staying on and off for about a year. I did what the notice said and left school to visit my mother. I knew something was wrong when I arrived at the hospital and saw my father’s expressionless face. He summoned me to a separate room and told me to sit down on a chair. “It seems like she will die... The doctor says within a couple of hours,” he said. I sat there speechless, searching for the right words to say to my father who loved my mother so much. After a few minutes of silence I finally replied, “Okay, I am prepared. I’m ready to begin my new life with just you and I at home.” After I said this, my father burst into tears. This was the last time I ever saw him cry infront of me.

A new life began for my father and I after my mother’s death. What I remember most from that time is that his eyes changed as he took on my mother’s responsibilities. He worked at his company during the day and then he worked at home in the evenings. I never saw my father work so hard in my life. I observed him as the years past. I watched him carefully and I will never forget the images that I have of my father working desperately with determination and hope to keep our family together.

I decided to organize this event as a soccer match last year because since I was 4, soccer has been the means for me to express myself and communicate with people. I have now played professional soccer internationally and in Japan. I give most of my credit for this opportunity to my father who has given me his everything to raise me these past eight years. When I am out on the field training and conditioning, I remember my father and his efforts in keeping our family together. At 22 years old, I feel ready to follow in his footsteps and live with hope after having experienced a huge loss from cancer. I want to give the same to other people who have experienced a similar loss and for me, soccer is my most effective means of doing so. I want to thank everyone who has been working hard at making this event happen. Without them, this event could not succeed. We are each looking forward to supporting cancer research and awareness with you all on December 10^th.