Insights from our Cancer Unwrapped Writing Contest Judges

June 16, 2020
When submitting their ballots, our writing contest judges shared some thoughts and feelings with us. We are so moved that want to share them with you:

“Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read the finalists’ essays. They are always so heartfelt. Many heavy ones this year!”

“I can’t believe how emotional I’ve gotten as I go through them.”

“I also wanted to say how incredible all the stories were.”

“That was some tough reading, but some really wonderful applicants!”

“Thanks so much for inviting me. I was able to join the awards reception by phone yesterday and I wanted to let you know how impressed I was with all the teens and their bravery in reading their essays. I wanted to share that I lost my mother when I was 10 and never really had the opportunity to grieve or express emotion like that. I always thought I could be helpful to kids who loose a parent to cancer as I had been through that experience and am here to tell the story but, what I felt yesterday is that I learned so much and gained strength from all of them and their stories. Thanks again for inviting me and congratulations on a great event.”

Thank you for your contributions, 2020 Judges!

View all 2020 Winning Essays

Since 2006, we have received over 5,000 essays from teens about the cancer diagnosis of family members, teachers,  friends, and their own cancer experiences. Every story has been honest and heartfelt, and each one is unique. This year alone, we received over 750 essays from 47 states. Thank you to every writer, every judge, and all of our readers.