Dallas, TX
‘Finish the Fight’: Cancer survivor’s artwork inspires Dallas Stars fans after beating rare blood disease
A Dallas woman who beat a rare and aggressive cancer is being celebrated in a special way. The Dallas Stars Foundation recently honored her at a home game not just for her strength, but for the artwork that helped her heal.
For Dallas attorney Gracen Moreno, last Friday’s Stars game was about more than hockey.
“The entire arena… it seemed like everyone was either holding a shirt or talking about the shirt,” she said.
A shirt she designed carries a powerful message, “Finish the Fight.”
Last year, at just 29-years-old, Gracen was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer. At the time, she was preparing for a jury trial and planning a wedding two months away. The plans were suddenly moved up to just one week after her diagnosis.
“You kind of have your whole life ahead of you and then it turns out upside down,” she said.
Her first symptom was a lingering cough. Then an X-ray revealed a nine-centimeter mass in her chest and a CT scan followed.
“My doctor called me and said don’t panic but I need you to go to the emergency room to start getting the process in place to get out whatever is in your chest biopsied,” she said.
Soon after came the news she feared most.
“When I heard or I found out that I had cancer, it’s like your worst nightmare ever coming true,” she said.
“Alk-Negative Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma is one of the rarest types of what we call non-Hodgkins lymphoma and it’s particularly aggressive unless treated appropriately,” Jana Reynolds, MD, a Texas Oncology physician on the medical staff at Baylor Scott & White Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center said.
Doctors told Gracen the prognosis wasn’t good, only about a 30% chance of surviving five years.
“What happens when the worst possible thing that you think at the time is the worst possible thing happens to you?” she said. “Well, you can either give up, which is not an option, or you can decide to fight.”
Fight she did. Through several rounds of grueling chemotherapy and, ultimately, a bone marrow transplant at Baylor Scott & White’s Sammons Cancer Center.
“On one of my lowest days of hospitalization my husband looked at me and said do you want to go paint something?” she said. “How do we make this better? I couldn’t see friends or family.”
Inside the hospital’s Arts in Medicine studio, Gracen began painting, using creativity to cope with the long days of treatment.
While there, her art therapist learned she was a Dallas Stars season ticket holder and when an opportunity came up, she knew exactly who to recommend.
“She came later to my hospital room and said you’ll never believe this, but I got an email from the Stars earlier today asking if I knew any cancer patients that also participated in the art program and I think you would be perfect for it,” she said.
At last Friday’s home game, the Dallas Stars Foundation honored Gracen, celebrating her remission and her resilience.
The team asked her to design custom artwork for a special T-shirt given to the first 500 fans and even players.
“Everyone was really invested in the mission,” Gracen said. “It was really cool to see fans, players, coaches, all either wearing the shirt or just celebrating the fight against cancer itself.”
Her team of doctors say the recognition was well deserved.
“I’m so proud of her for accepting the challenge and honestly bringing more attention to the serious things that we face,” Dr. Reynolds said.
“It was a really special night,” Gracen said.
The Dallas Mavericks are searching for a new general manager/president of basketball operations after firing Nico Harrison in November. Team governor Patrick Dumont has set his sights high, looking for a premier target to take over the team. He was able to convince Hall of Famer Rick Welts to come out of retirement to be the CEO, and now he thinks he can do the same for this role.
The most commonly connected target has been Tim Connelly, the president of basketball operations of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He is still under contract, and he no longer has an out. However, according to the latest Stein Line, it is still possible he could be on the move.
“…While Connelly is said to no longer hold an opt-out provision in his current contract, belief persists in various league circles that there are scenarios that would render him ‘gettable’ once Minnesota’s 2025-26 season is complete.”
If he is attainable, it won’t be until after the Timberwolves’ playoff run ends. They’re currently up 3-1 on the Denver Nuggets, who Connelly previously helped build, but Anthony Edwards will be out for a few weeks with a bone bruise and hyperextension in his left knee, and Donte DiVincenzo tore his Achilles. Both of those injuries happened in Game 4, so even if they pull out the series, they may be overmatched in the next series.
What would make Connelly leave Minnesota, though? He’s built a team that has made two straight Western Conference Finals appearances. Considering the franchise had just one appearance in its existence prior to this run, it’s hard to ask for much more. Anthony Edwards is a young superstar, and he has a nearly perfect roster around him.
However, Cooper Flagg may just have that much draw to him. Even if the Mavericks don’t have a lot of valuable draft capital to help build the team around Flagg, a lot of executives would love the opportunity to build a team around him.
How Should Mavericks Fans Feel if Tim Connelly is the Choice?
Tim Connelly has made some risky trades in his time running the Timberwolves, sending out a massive haul to bring in Rudy Gobert, and also making the controversial Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo trade right before last season started.
You can’t deny his ability to build championship contenders, though. The Mavericks were a championship contender before the Luka Doncic trade, even beating Connelly’s Timberwolves to get to the NBA Finals, but they need a new rebuild around Cooper Flagg. With a lottery pick to pair with him this offseason, they have to make every decision correctly.
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