A survivor's fight to remain cancer free with Luke Gambale

Not Every Fight Ends at the Bell

This episode of the "Not Every Fight Ends at the Bell" podcast features an interview with Luke Gambale, who will be fighting in the upcoming Liberty Bell Brawl charity boxing event in Philadelphia to raise money for cancer research. Luke was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer when he was 30 years old. After undergoing chemotherapy and immunotherapy, he was told the cancer was incurable and he would need lifelong treatment. However, he later underwent surgery that successfully removed the tumor. He is now nearing 2 years cancer-free and sees the boxing match as a way to celebrate this milestone while fundraising for cancer charities.

The hosts Todd and Julie, who are also cancer survivors, interview Luke about his cancer journey, decision to do the boxing match, training, and hopes for the event. Luke talks about ignoring health problems when he was younger, finally getting diagnosed, and going through intense cancer treatment. He provides details about his various surgeries. Luke then discusses how he learned about Haymakers for Hope events, committed to the boxing match, and started training at a local gym. He talks about staying motivated for the fundraising aspect. The hosts and Luke discuss what he's looking forward to about the upcoming media day when boxers meet their opponents. Luke also shares his excitement for fight night itself. He emphasizes that he sees the match as part of his healing journey and wants to raise money for cancer charities.

Quotes

(00:05:43) “To sort of have other people with you going through the exact same training regimen, same frustrations, maybe same fears, then also fundraising and having that on your shoulders is really, really helpful.”

(00:43:13) “Luke, how do you live with the idea of kind of hanging over your head that you could get cancer again?”... “I mean, I could get hit by a car. I live in Philadelphia. There's a lot of bad things that could happen to me here. I would say with that it's definitely a driver just to make sure like doing all the right things to lower that chance”.

(00:45:29) "Anyone can go sign up for a marathon. My brother signed up on three weeks notice and ran it. It was super awesome to do it with him. Granted, I beat him by like three hours, but not everyone can go box.

Resource Links:

Donate to Luke

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Haymakers for Hope is an official 501(c)(3) charity organization that gives you the opportunity to fight back against cancer. They also have charity bibs for races all across the country and host charity golf tournaments.

Not Every Fight Ends at the Bell is presented and produced by Haymakers for Hope, in partnership with StudioPod Media. Our producers are former fighters Jordan McMillan and Julian A Lewis II.