RYAN RIEGNER

I recently applied for the James “Rhio” O’Connor Memorial Scholarship Essay Contest in which I was asked to create an introspective investigation into what I would do if I was diagnosed with cancer, in terms of how I would best approach treatment options. The following essay was my response, and this post serves as my application for the contest. Thanks Cancer Monthly for this rare and worthwhile opportunity. James was a great man.

What is the cure for cancer? This simple question has for centuries mystified humanity, as one the single largest ongoing goals of the medical community. Cancer in its various forms is an extremely complicated biological abnormality. The top cancer experts in the world have attempted to understand it, and have only been able to with various forms of marginally effective treatments. As a result, many diagnosed cancer patients simply lose hope and faith in the possibility of overcoming their prognosis and relinquish any effort to fight to survive. However, James Rhio O’Conner did the exact opposite of most people when he was diagnosed with cancer. He decided to take his treatment into his own hands, determined to overcome his illness and live a long and happy life. He serves as an inspirational example to the possibilities of how anyone can properly create their own cure for cancer and outlive their prognosis in light of this daunting disease.
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Recently, through Zago I was given an amazing opportunity to work with the COP15 United Nations Climate Change Conferance that ran earlier in December. The event was the largest international political conference held in Denmark, with 192 countries represented, and over 15,000 participants engaged in an open dialogue about the global climate crisis. The conference focused on the current misuse of global fossil fuels, with the goal to develop and implement an immediate course of action to redirect climate change. As a designer, I found it engaging to become part of the dialogue in relaying this message of urgency and hope for the future of our planet.

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