This walk is for my friend, Lindsay Zubeck.

Lindsay and I both lived with ocular melanoma. That shared diagnosis is how we found each other and how our friendship began. We walked a similar path, but our journeys were not the same. I am here. I am thriving. Lindsay had to keep fighting. And that truth is heartbreaking.

This cancer is cruel and unfair. It takes far too much from people who deserve so much more.

From the moment she was diagnosed in 2018, Lindsay showed up for the ocular melanoma community with everything she had. She fought for research, for access to clinical trials and for a future where fewer families would have to hear the words she did. She raised funds, spoke up and made sure our small community had a voice. Even while she was fighting for her own life, she was fighting for all of us.

But Lindsay was so much more than an advocate. She was joy. She was laughter. She was the life of the party and the light in the room. She made people feel seen, understood and less alone. Her love was generous and constant, even on the hardest days.

Lindsay believed in a kind of hope that wasn’t soft or fragile. It was gritty, stubborn and relentless. The kind of hope that keeps going when things are hard and shows up even when it hurts. That is the hope she carried, and that is the hope this team walks for.

I walk in her memory and in honor of everyone living with ocular melanoma. We deserve better treatments, more options and more time. Every step and every donation helps carry forward the work Lindsay cared about so deeply and helps move us closer to a future where this cancer no longer steals the people we love.

Thank you for honoring Lindsay, for standing with this community and for helping us keep hope alive, even when it’s hard.

Step up and donate to Miles for Melanoma today.