Bryan Fletcher Works to Redefine Cancer Survival

As a nordic combined athlete, reigning U.S. national champion, King’s Cup winner and Olympian, Bryan Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, CO) definitely knows how to fight. What fewer people know is that Fletcher had to develop these skills early in life: when he battled Leukemia from age three onwards.

This summer, Fletcher and other childhood cancer survivors founded the charity ccThrive. ccThrive’s mission is to build awareness that childhood cancer survivors can thrive by providing visibility to high profile childhood cancer survivors performing at top levels to demonstrate that survivorship is not necessarily defined by diminished physical and cognitive capacities.

For the 29-year-old, it was his disease that also made him grow into what he is today: a world-class nordic combined athlete.

"It was this diagnosis that started my amazing journey as a Nordic Combined athlete. While still battling cancer, I was introduced to the world of ski jumping and nordic combined by some influential people in the sport," remembered Fletcher. "I would divide my time between chemo treatments and the sport, which helped to keep my spirits alive. I would spend two weeks in Denver undergoing treatments and a week in Steamboat, throwing my body off a jump and into the air. Ultimately, this helped me to fight for my life and to be number one on the jumps. But I didn’t stop at the jumps; I wanted to push myself further and took my ambitions to the cross country trails, which in turn made me a Nordic Combined athlete."

Representing his country at the 2014 Sochi Olympics gave Fletcher not only the platform to talk about his sports successes, but also about his cancer experience to open up a dialogue with parents and organizations from the childhood cancer world. Families were able to find a role model encouraging them to have children with cancer be as active as possible, both physically and cognitively. Once off treatment, the kids could be proactive and persistent in their full rehabilitation and then easily enter into competitive pursuits.

In the summer of 2014, Fletcher met Gavin Shamis, a youthful athlete and cancer patient with a similar story to his own and the idea for ccThrive was born. Today, the organization offers three different programs. The first is the ccThrive program, which shares inspirational stories from high-profile cancer survivors to help young cancer patients dream bigger, challenge themselves and achieve more. The second is the mentor program, which offers support and encouragement to achieve those goals. Finally, there is a grant program that helps those who need financial support to pursue their passions and goals at the next level.

To learn more about getting involved in ccThrive, visit their website. 

Release courtesy of FIS.