Wounded Warrior Spotlight: Beating Cancer and Stereotypes 

Senior Master Sgt. Nikki Favuzza and her family were eagerly awaiting the arrival of their third child in 2018 when their lives were suddenly turned upside down. Persistent headaches and a lump on the hard palate in her mouth led her doctors to run tests to confirm what they suspected. Just moments before going into labor, she received the news that most people dread hearing from their doctors: she had cancer.

Not one to back down from a challenge, her focus immediately shifted to recovery. “Everything moved so quickly,” she recalls on hearing the news. “I didn’t really have a lot of time to think. I just looked to the doctor and said, ‘What’s next?’” 

Thankfully her daughter was born without incident, but her journey to recovery was just beginning. Favuzza was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare form of cancer in the salivary glands that was beginning to spread. For her and her husband with two young children and a newborn at home, the treatment was exhausting. She underwent 30 rounds of radiation, twice-a-day injections, and a 10-hour surgery to remove parts of her jaw. After her maxillectomy, she would have to learn to eat and speak again. 

But perhaps the worst part of her treatment was the time she missed out on with her baby. “I do miss having the bonding time with my daughter because I couldn’t hold her because of the radiation,” she reflected on her treatment. Always in a positive mindset though, she rebounded, “But I’m spending all my days making up for it now.” 

Nikki was automatically enrolled in the Air Force Wounded Warrior (AFW2) program and she admits that, at first, she was “bitter” about having yet another obligation to tend to in between all her medical appointments. When she learned of the adaptive sports though, her outlook changed. She would rediscover her love for sports and even picked up some new ones, including archery, rifle shooting, power lifting, and, of course, cycling. 

What excites Nikki the most about cycling and the M2M ride is that it’s a team sport. Thinking of the camaraderie that permeates the entire event, she noted, “It’s almost symbolic of people who have gone through major adversities because whenever you feel like you’ve hit that wall and you’re running out of fuel, you can just drop off and someone else will pick up that slack.” 

Favuzza is not just riding because she enjoys cycling and the team spirit though. She views the ride as a means of giving back to organizations that helped her through a difficult time. “My whole purpose is to thank everyone. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the program.” She set up a fundraiser page of her own for the M2M ride and even brought her oncologist along to join the ride. Next year she hopes to talk her husband, an athlete himself, into joining as well.  

Part of Favuzza’s drive is also shattering stereotypes on what a cancer patient should be by sharing her story. Her energy is palpable and not even a life-threatening illness could shake her innate positivity. She believes her optimistic attitude was key to her recovery and that this confident, upbeat mindset can help other patients or wounded warriors get through their struggles too. While the type of cancer she has is never truly cured, her condition is currently classified as NED, or no evidence of disease. In capping off her speech to a room full of riders and supporters, she proudly declared, “I don’t live with cancer. Cancer lives with me.”