Kam-Chow was the first idea I ever built at 18.
At the time, I was a wild 18-year-old flying through life, making elite-level bad decisions, probably thinking I had everything figured out… on my way to a random dental checkup. And then life said, yeah, no you don’t.
At 19, I was diagnosed with a rare cancer.
Humbled? Immediately. But that same chaotic, bull in a china shop energy didn’t go anywhere.
That’s what led me to start this blog. Because I felt something weirdly strong, like I was meant to be in this space. Meant to help people in this fight. And I’ll be honest… I remember walking into rooms and just feeling it, that heavy, hopeless energy. Like everything was already decided. Even some of the environments that were supposed to heal you didn’t feel hopeful.
Then I got to the Mayo Clinic. And for the first time, I was like… oh… wait… we can actually win this thing. That changed everything for me. From then on, I made it my mission to shift the narrative:
Cancer is a journey, and somehow, some way, you can still find joy in it.
After treatment, I had one goal. Hand over a big check. Like unnecessarily big. So I set a goal, $10,000. And somehow… we actually did it. At 20 years old, I raised $10K for the Mayo Clinic to study the exact cancer I have, by selling random stuff out of my garage, racing bikes, running marathons… basically turning my life into controlled chaos with a purpose. On June 4th, 2026, I’ll hand that check over.
Now I’m a proud Boilermaker at Purdue University, learning how to bring people together, because if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s this; Nothing meaningful is done alone. The stats? They’re cool. But they’ve never been the point. The people are.
Over the past two years, we’ve built a community of 20,000+ people. “Pens of Hope”, $2,000+ in support and 200+ letters sent to cancer patients worldwide. Partnerships and support from groups like the American College of Cardiology Foundation, First Descents, and Roche.
But this page? This isn’t polished. This is where I dump my real thoughts. No filter. No perfect wording. No pretending I have it all figured out (because… I definitely don’t).
If you scroll down, you’ll see it, what it actually looks like to go through cancer at 19, especially a rare one. Not the highlight reel. The real thing.
If you want the more polished version of me, speaking, events, all that, you can check out my professional page. That’s where I’m working to change the foundation of how we fight cancer.Not just treatment but how we talk about it, how we support people through it, and how we come together around it. That version of the mission, the one that’s structured, built out, and growing into something bigger, lives on my speaking and initiatives page.
Whether it’s about cancer, life, or you just don’t want to sit in it alone, if you want to build something, an idea.
Reach out. I’ll make the time.
With gratitude (and a little chaos),
Kam
