At the Ulman Foundation, we believe that no young adult should ever face cancer alone. And every mile our runners log, the money they raise, every training run they push through in the early morning dark - it goes directly toward making that belief a reality for thousands of young adults navigating one of the hardest experiences of their lives.
The Ulman Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting, connecting, and empowering young adults impacted by cancer. We serve patients, survivors, and caregivers between the ages of 15 and 39 - a population that is far too often overlooked in the broader cancer conversation.
Young adulthood is already one of the most complex and defining chapters of a person's life. Add a cancer diagnosis - and the financial strain, social isolation, treatment disruption, and identity upheaval that comes with it - and the stakes become almost impossible to imagine. That is where we come in. Through patient navigation, free housing for those traveling for treatment, peer support, wellness programming, financial assistance, and community-building, Ulman wraps young adults in a system of support that follows them from diagnosis through survivorship and beyond.
When Mike Tirone was 13 years old, he thought he was invincible. He was a three-sport athlete with big dreams and the kind of teenage confidence that feels unshakeable - until one April morning, sitting in a softly lit examination room with his parents, he was told he had cancer.
Hodgkin's Lymphoma. His world stopped.
What followed was one of the most grueling medical journeys imaginable. One round of chemo. One round of radiation. A pronouncement of remission - and then a relapse, with tumors filling more of
his body than before. More chemo that did not work. Changes in drugs, hospitals, doctors, and approaches. Finally, a stem-cell transplant with the highest dose of chemotherapy his body could withstand. Instead of living out his teenage years on athletic fields, Mike spent them in hospital beds, missing basketball practices, pitching lessons, and soccer matches.
During his final treatment, he hit rock bottom a shell of the athlete he had been, having not eaten for 16 days, staring out a hospital window and not knowing if he would ever go outside again. But then came a moment that changed everything. Just ten weeks after that hospital bed, still frail and barely recovered, Mike was given the rare opportunity to carry the Olympic torch on its way to the Salt Lake City Games. It was only one-tenth of a mile. But it was his first step back.
As Mike neared the end of his recovery, his oncologist gave him a list of things he should not do as a survivor - including no high-altitude or long-endurance stress to the heart. For someone who had spent his whole life as an athlete, it was a gut punch. And it ignited something in him. He made it his mission to prove that cancer would not get to define his limits. He would run a marathon.
Mike found his community at the Ulman Foundation, volunteering since 2011, growing programs, riding with the Key to Keys team, and eventually joining the Board of Directors. And when he finally crossed the NYC Marathon finish line wearing his Team Ulman jersey - his arm covered with the names and faces of people whose lives had been changed or taken by cancer - he described the feeling as surreal. Something he would never be able to fully put into words.
"I know firsthand" Mike wrote after his race, "that receiving support to get healthy, get moving, and get in control of your life is vital to recovery, remission and survival."
Mike' s story is one of thousands. And it is made possible by runners who choose to do something with their miles.
When you run with Team Ulman, your fundraising goes directly toward programs that change lives in
measurable, meaningful ways. Here is what that looks like in action:
Every dollar raised through Team Ulman is put to work across a continuum of programs designed to meet young adults wherever they are on their cancer journey:
Patient Navigation that reduces barriers to care - from treatment coordination to financial guidance to fertility counselling and mental health support - ensuring young adults always know their next step.
• Free Housing at Ulman House -with an average stay of 13 days and a longest stay of nearly a full year, our home away from home eliminates one of the most significant financial and logistical burdens facing families traveling for treatment.
• Peer Connection through 54 support groups serving hundreds of young adults -because sometimes the most powerful thing a person can hear is from someone who has been exactly where they are.
• Wellness & Reintegration through Cancer to 5K -helping survivors rebuild strength, confidence, and community, with 41% of alumni returning as coaches to pay it forward.
• Financial Assistance -with over $83,000 applied toward external and Ulman patient funds, helping bridge the gaps that insurance and savings cannot cover
• Ambassador Programming -connecting 43 survivors, patients, caregivers, and loved ones with opportunities to share their stories, support others, and give back to the community that carried them through.
Running a marathon is already one of the most personal and demanding things a person can choose to do. Doing it for Team Ulman adds a dimension of meaning that runners tell us they never expected - and never forget.
When you run with us, you are not just logging miles. You are funding a navigator who will sit with a frightened young adult and help them understand a diagnosis that changed their life overnight. You are keeping the lights on at Ulman House so a family does not have to choose between a hotel room and groceries. You are making it possible for a survivor to lace up their running shoes for the first time after treatment — and cross a finish line they never thought they would see.
You are also joining a community unlike any other. Team Ulman runners consistently describe race weekend as one of the most connected, motivated, and meaningful experiences of their lives. The group chats, the training check-ins, the fundraising milestones, the moment around mile 20 when you remember exactly who you are running for - it changes the race entirely.
Our runners come from every background imaginable. But they are united by one belief - that no young adult should ever face cancer alone. And they are willing to run 26.2 miles, or 13.1, or 6.2, to prove it.
The need for Ulman's services continues to grow - and so do we. In the years ahead, we are deepening our navigation specialisation to better serve young adults navigating mental health challenges, long-term financial wellness, survivorship, and reintegration into work, school, and community on the other side of cancer.
We are expanding housing capacity so no young adult is ever turned away. We are reaching more young adults in historically underserved communities - 41% of our current community identifies as racially or ethnically diverse, and we know there are thousands more who need us. And we are building proactive check-in systems so no one ever slips through the cracks. We are doing all of it one mile, one dollar, and one runner at a time.
If you are ready to run for something bigger than a finish line - if you want your miles to mean something that lasts long after the medal is hung up - we want you on our team. Whether you are a seasoned marathoner or lacing up for the very first time, Team Ulman will meet you where you are and cheer you every step of the way.
