“Every punch I throw in the ring is for our veterans,” says Chelsey Simoni, a nurse and former member of the R.I. Army National Guard.
On Thursday, Oct. 9, at Boston’s MGM Music Hall at Fenway, RIC alumna Chelsey Simoni ’18, M.S.N. ’22 will be fighting for a cure for cancer in the annual Haymakers for Hope Belles of the Brawl XII charity boxing event.
Along with 25 other brave fighters residing in the New England area, Simoni will be stepping into the ring to raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
A public health nurse and former member of the R.I. Army National Guard, Simoni co-founded the HunterSeven Foundation to expose the toxic nature of burn pits on U.S. military bases and to provide post-9/11 veterans with medical and nonmedical support.
During the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, burn pits were used for the disposal and burning of waste. But they also released known carcinogens into the air. Otherwise healthy members of the military returned with cancer, leukemia and other life-threatening conditions.
“Through my work at HunterSeven, I’ve seen firsthand what cancer looks like in our nation’s heroes – the painful loss, heartbreak and delays in diagnoses and care. I’ve held the hands of young service members who deployed in peak physical health only to come home and be diagnosed with rare, aggressive cancers,” says Simoni.
She has conducted extensive research on burn pits and fought for legislation on Capitol Hill. Her fight continues.
Haymakers for Hope has raised over $35 million for cancer research, awareness, survivorship and care, since holding their first boxing event in 2011. Donations through Simoni’s personal fundraising page directly support HunterSeven’s cancer screening program, which provides early detection for post-9/11 veterans at the highest risk.
“Every punch I throw in the ring is for our veterans,” she says. “They didn’t hesitate to fight for us. Now it’s our turn to fight for them.”
Also see: “Burn Pits – The Agent Orange of the Iraq War,” “M.S.N. Student Publishes Study on Toxic Exposure in Iraq Vets” and “Armed With Graduate-Level Research, This Nurse Took Her Fight for Vets to the White House.”