A few days ago, a message landed in our inbox that I have been thinking about ever since.
Paula Ngon, a publicist and someone many of you may already know from her work in the NFL, reached out to share that she will be celebrating five years cancer-free this year. And instead of quietly marking the milestone, she is spending it raising money for blood cancer patients in underserved communities, who are fighting right now, alongside two other women she connected with through the process.
We talk a lot about what it means to work in PR, marketing, and communications. The strategy, the craft, the industry shifts. But the thing we do not say enough is that this work puts us in proximity to people who are brilliant and driven and generous, and that those relationships carry us through more than the professional moments. Paula, Brianna, and Amani are proof of that. Three women in marketing communications, navigating some of the hardest moments of their lives, and turning that experience into something that will help people they have never met.
We are proud to help amplify this. We hope you will show up with us.
Meet Paula
Brand Communications & Public Affairs at NFL.
In April 2021, Paula was a 26-year-old working in entertainment PR in New York City when swollen lymph nodes sent her to the emergency room. She was dismissed and sent home. She found a new doctor the next day, insisted on being heard, and received a Stage II cancer diagnosis days later. She is now five years in remission.
Meet Amani
Senior Director of Communications at United Entertainment Group
In 2019, Amani was diagnosed with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, a rare form of blood cancer that multiple doctors had dismissed as dry skin or eczema. She underwent multiple rounds of radiation and treatment, and is now six years cancer-free.
Meet Brianna
Sr. Trade Marketing Manager at NBCUniversal
In February 2025, just four months after celebrating her 30th birthday, Brianna was diagnosed with Stage II Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Even in the midst of treatment, she continued to empower young Black women to advocate for their health through her organization, Take Care of You Sis. She is currently in remission.
All three of them work in Marcomms. All three were diagnosed before 35. All three were dismissed by at least one doctor before they got the answers they needed. And all three turned that experience into advocacy.
This Sunday, they are doing something about it.
Harlem Sunday Funday: Crawl for the Cure takes place on April 26, from 2 to 8 PM, raising funds for Blood Cancer United, the organization that has invested more than $1.8 billion in blood cancer research since 1949. Every dollar raised goes directly to Blood Cancer United.
The crawl features specialty cocktails and mocktails, raffle giveaways including Super Bowl LXI tickets, live DJs, and stops at some of Harlem's best restaurants and bars:
Sylvia's
Red Rooster Harlem
BLVD Bistro
Lido
BIXI
The Fox
Corner Social
And more to come
In their own words.
We asked Paula, Amani, and Brianna a few questions and want to share some of what they said, because it deserves to be read.
On navigating the medical system as a young Black woman:
Paula: "There was a moment during my cancer journey where I realized I was fighting on two fronts, against my illness, and against a doctor who simply wouldn't take my concerns seriously. I had to challenge him without challenging his ego. I had to articulate myself precisely, do my own research, frame my questions the right way, all just to be heard. That's an exhausting thing to carry when you're already fighting for your life. But here's what hit me: I only knew how to do that because of my communications training. That was a privilege. And most patients don't have it."
Amani: "From the very beginning, I was told by a doctor at a world-renowned cancer hospital that there was no way someone of my age and race could have this particular type of cancer. I never went to an appointment alone. I needed someone to advocate alongside me. It is incredibly difficult to focus on getting healthy while also carrying the fear that enough due diligence is not being done on your behalf."
On carrying a diagnosis privately while working in a public-facing industry:
Amani: "Working in PR impacted how I shared my journey greatly. Everything I do is public facing and, from the outside, it looks glamorous and fun. I carried a lot of shame around having cancer, even though I had no control over it. I did not want to be known as the girl with cancer, and I did not want people to pity me. Even now, participating in public advocacy around this cause has been difficult. There is still a lot of pain connected to that time."
Paula: "I didn't want cancer to become the headline. I was afraid of what it would overshadow or change about how people saw me. It wasn't until I spoke at the Visionaries of the Year gala that something shifted. Afterward, a nine-year-old girl named Yaya came up to me. She'd had her own battle with leukemia and she told me what it meant to her to see a Black woman stand up and talk openly about her experience. I think about that moment a lot because I almost didn't do it."
On why this fundraiser is focused specifically on underserved communities:
Brianna: "Growing up, I watched my grandmother, a four-time breast cancer survivor and founder of Sisters Network Inc., the only national Black breast cancer survivorship organization, tirelessly fundraise and advocate for underserved communities. Supporting and raising money for underserved patients isn't just meaningful to me. It's a continuation of the work I was raised to believe in: turning survival into service, and experience into impact."
Paula: "I've been in these rooms before, the galas, the fundraisers, the awareness events, and I've looked around and not seen myself reflected back. That's a lonely feeling when you're also a patient. So when I had the chance to shape my own campaign, I was intentional. I wanted this to feel like a celebration of the very communities that are most impacted and least represented in these spaces. That's why we're doing this in Harlem, with Harlem businesses at the center."
If you are in New York this Sunday, April 27, please come out. If you are not, the fundraiser is accepting donations through May 8 and every dollar goes directly to Blood Cancer United.