June is National Cancer Survivors Month, and we’re sharing stories and insights from survivors in our CARES community. Our Founder Scott Hamilton was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1997, 20 years after losing his mother to cancer. This initial diagnosis was followed by brain tumors in 2004, 2010, and 2016. After beating cancer, Scott has dedicated himself to raising funds and awareness for cancer research, establishing the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation as a national identity in 2014. To honor Scott’s crowd-thrilling backflips, our Foundation’s logo is an upside-down cancer ribbon. It’s also reminiscent of an unfinished figure 8, a common shape in figure skating, to represent the work that is still needed in the fight against cancer.

Thank you, Scott, for sharing your story to inspire hope and raise awareness about the importance of continued investment in cancer research.

What were your biggest challenges during treatment?

When anyone is going through cancer for the first time, you are basically flying blind. Usually, the only thing you know about cancer is what you have heard from others who have gone through it. Information is comfort. Information is power. I needed to learn what I was about to experience, and that information wasn’t easy to find. Once I was able to get to a certain point in my treatment, I was able to accept what was happening as my “next normal” and develop ways to endure chemo as an enthusiastic participant.

Did any treatments or trials in your care come from cancer research?

While I was going through treatment, the only thing I cared about was my day-to-day. Following my diagnosis and biopsy, my oncologists shared with me that I had an 80% to 90% chance of surviving my form of cancer. The only thing I cared about was getting through each treatment cycle to get back to my life.

It was only after I finished my protocol that I was able to better understand the big picture. I learned that 50 years ago, testicular cancer had a 5% survival rate. I was fortunate that researchers had been able to elevate survival rates extraordinarily to where I had the opportunity to get back to my life in a way that allowed me to extend my skating career.

*Scott performing with Kurt Browning at Scott Hamilton & Friends in 2024 (photo by Kathryn Costello)*

How has surviving cancer changed your outlook on life?

Surviving cancer changed my life completely. Having lost my mother to cancer when she was 49 years old, I realized that I was given a second chance when she wasn’t. I wanted to use this second chance to step into a new life and make a greater difference in the cancer community. So much of my day-to-day was about me and what I wanted in my life and career. I knew I was out of balance and needed to make changes in the way I was living. That perspective allowed me to build a new life as a husband, father, and productive member of the cancer community.

What message would you share with those still fighting?

I learned a lot during my cancer journey. So much of what I experienced shaped the way I live and love today. During my cancer treatment, I was constantly reminded that my body was fragile, susceptible, and vulnerable, but also resilient, and ultimately temporary. I was also reminded that each day was a gift meant to be lived, no matter what I was going through or how I felt physically. Every single moment we are given is an opportunity to love and be loved. To share joy, strength, and inspire others by how we live each day, because we are all in this life together, and it is important to live each day to its fullest.

I like to share with survivors this question “How do you know that you have truly survived cancer?” My answer is “When you get upset in traffic.” We go back to sweating the small stuff.

Survivor Spotlight: Scott Hamilton

Survivor Spotlight: Scott Farmer