Patrick Woepse, a former channel swimmer and water polo player who passed away at the age of 31, left a legacy among his family, friends, teammates, and classmates. His favorite quote, “We can do hard things,” shapes the mission of the Patrick Woepse Foundation
The Patrick Woepse Foundation
The Foundation honors the life of Woepse while raising awareness for NUT Carcinoma and other rare cancers. The pillars of the Foundation are built upon Woepse’s legacy, innovative collaboration, hard work, and resilience with the aid to advocate for rare cancer research and trials, patient and family care, and areas that need change within the NUT Carcinoma community.
The Foundation works alongside the Dana-Farber Institute, the Crabtree Lab at Stanford and University of North Carolina to offer its support and funds to help push for change.
NUT Carcinoma
NUT Carcinoma is a rare and aggressive cancer, primarily diagnosed in young adults. NUT Carcinoma is a midline cancer, meaning it is found in the head, neck, chest (lung) or abdomen. Symptoms include unintentional weight loss, fatigue, pain, cough and shortness of breath.
One of the most concerning aspects of NUT Carcinoma is its rapid progression and resistance to standard cancer treatments. Because it is so rare, it is often misdiagnosed or discovered at an advanced stage, making it difficult to treat. Researchers are actively working to develop better therapies.
Legacy
A fellow UCLA alumnus Jackie Robinson once said, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”
As a former water polo player and English Channel (10 hours 28 minutes) and Catalina Channel (12 hours 53 minutes) swimmer, Woepse was an individual whose smile and actions touched those around him. He was the roommate friends wanted, the teammate that players loved, the friend who always showed up, and the brother, son uncle, next-door neighbor, co-worker, and husband that everyone respected. He exuded a positive, enthusiastic, can-do vibe to the air – especialy when times were tough.
His wife, Maddie Musselman Woepse, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, explains the scope and mission of The Patrick Woepse Foundation below.
PWF Swim
The 1st Annual PWF Swim to honor Woepse’s legacy and to help kickoff his Foundation will be held on August 9th in Newport Beach, California.
The 2.5 km memorial swim is between 34th Street in Newport Beach and the Newport Pier.
To register, visit here.
Ryder Roberts who serves as a board member of the Foundation talked about his teammate:
Looking Down With A Smile
Prior to his Celebration of Life, his wife and Foundation president Maddie Woepse (@maddiemusselman) wrote, “He opened my heart up to what love is and looks like and I will forever do my best to love as hard as Patrick loved from this day forward. He was a true blessing from God.
He battled one of the most rare cancers for over a year, never complained, and fought harder than anyone should have to fight for something in their life✨ He fought EVERY DAY to be here with us as long as he could. His courage was seen daily from day one.
I was so lucky to have gotten a front row seat of Pat’s life for the past 3 years. Our time together was cut way too short. I know for a fact I will continue to share stories of him for the rest of my life… get ready for it all.
I know Pat is looking down and smiling with that perfect smile of his. He is definitely overjoyed to be running and swimming around all freely up in heaven. I can’t wait to run into his arms again one day until then, I promised him I would keep living life with him as my angel, guiding and motivating me, and never ever forgetting the ways he has made my life amazing. He promised me he would continue to show up and all I have to do is just look for him.”
For more information on the Patrick Woepse Foundation, visit www.patrickwoepsefoundation.org.
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