Hope, Healing, and Research Highlighted at K-State’s ‘Cure Starts With Us’ Luncheon
- Adolfo Blanco
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
At the heart of Kansas State University’s "Cure Starts With Us" Power Luncheon was a message that resonated far beyond the tables of the ballroom. That healing is more than medicine, and the cure begins with compassion, research, and human connection.
The Johnson Cancer Research Center at Kansas State University brought together survivors, researchers, and community members last week for the Cure Starts With Us Power Luncheon, an event dedicated to uniting science, compassion, and personal stories in the fight against cancer.
Now in its 15th year, the luncheon has grown from a small breast cancer survivor gathering into a campus and community tradition. Hosted at the Holiday Inn Manhattan at the Campus, the event celebrated both the advancements in cancer research and the people whose lives have been touched by the disease.
“This luncheon helps recognize and honor those who have battled through cancer and also helps those people power through and tell their stories,” said Melissa Kirkwood, events coordinator for the Johnson Cancer Research Center. “It’s not just for cancer survivors, but also for those who are advocates of cancer research and all that we do here at the Johnson Cancer Research Center.”
The event’s keynote speaker, Nate McClendon, a musician, educator, and motivational speaker, delivered a message that blended grief, psychology, and hope. Sharing the story of losing his daughter, McClendon spoke about how loss can transform one’s view of life.
“You lose more than just the thing that’s on the surface,” McClendon said. “Death causes you to focus on life. The two are like this… None of us know how much time we have, but what we do have control over is how we decide to spend the time that we do have.”
His message reinforced the luncheon’s central theme: that cancer may alter lives, but it does not define them.
Dr. Ryan Rafferty, interim director of the Johnson Cancer Research Center and associate professor of chemistry, emphasized the event’s role in strengthening the partnership between research and community care.
“The importance behind this event is to bring the community together so we can all be aware in this fight,” Rafferty said. “It’s not just one person, one center, one organization. It's all of us. We are truly all in this together, and the cure does truly start with all of us here as one community.”
Rafferty also discussed new initiatives, including the opening of a respite room for students, staff, and faculty coping with cancer. “This is one small aspect of what we as a community can do,” he said. “We want to be a resource, not only at the luncheon, but every day.”
Students are also playing a growing role in the center’s outreach efforts. Alynna Mattox, president of Cats for a Cure, a student organization that creates care packages for patients, said the luncheon connects research to real human stories.
“It’s so important to bring the cancer community together,” Mattox said. “It’s great for us to be able to connect with the people that our research is going to directly benefit.” For Mattox, the luncheon was a reminder of why she joined the organization in the first place. “All cancers matter,” she said. “There’s so much awareness that needs to go out about all these different types of cancers and research in general.”
As the luncheon came to a close, McClendon’s final words left a lasting impression on attendees: a message of courage and identity that summed up the event’s spirit.
“Cancer is there,” McClendon said, “but cancer is not you.”
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