I am Jean Grieve.  I moved to Fort Walton Beach in 2006 and am truly blessed to be able to enjoy being near one of my two stepdaughters and two of my five grandchildren.  My work life as a senior engineer at Eglin Air Force Base is extremely rewarding.

I have been a volunteer with the American Cancer Society since 2004.  I am a 2012 survivor of basal cell carcinoma (skin cancer).  When I heard those words ‘you have cancer’ I was out of town for meetings; it was also my mother’s birthday – November 8.  I had had a biopsy the week prior.  I was very fortunate and did not require any radiation or chemotherapy.

I have fulfilled the caregiver role as well.  I was there for my younger brother Jimmy during his 5-year battle with prostate cancer and my best friend, Dawn, during her breast cancer journey.  We lost Jimmy in 2016 and Dawn in 2017.  Those two deaths truly had a profound impact on my life.  I promised both of them I would continue the fight against cancer for as long as I was physically able to.  In keeping with that promise, I have been involved with so many facets of ACS – Relay For Life, Bark For Life, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, Real Men Wear Pink, ACS CAN, Galas, Irish Cancer Society, Team Relay Nation, CPS-3 study, and now Voices of Hope.  Each of these events/programs/forums has allowed me to be “a voice for those who no longer have a voice”; to continue their quest.  That is where my focus lies.

I speak for those who have courageously fought cancer, but their journey has ended.  I would like to think I am also a voice for those who are in the midst of their cancer journey.