Meet Michael Matthews: A Journey of Strength, Family, and Hope

At 58 years young, Michael “Mike” Matthews is a devoted husband, loving father to Brook and Ryan, loyal friend, and hardworking electrician who has always believed in the importance of family, friendship, and enjoying the simple things in life.

Mike was raised in upstate New York before making New Jersey his home at just 18 years old. Over the years, he built a life filled with the people and things he loves most. He is the truest type of person—genuine, hardworking, dependable, and always willing to be there for the people around him. When he isn't working, Mike enjoys spending time with family and friends. Give him some free time, and you will most likely find him outdoors, fishing or boating and enjoying the peace that comes with being on the water.

Fourteen years ago, at the age of 45, Mike's life took an unexpected turn when he was diagnosed with recurrent papillary thyroid cancer. What began as a diagnosis became a journey that would challenge him and his family in ways they never could have imagined.

Since his diagnosis, Mike has endured five surgeries, along with various treatments, countless scans and blood tests, and numerous appointments with different specialists. Each procedure, each test, and each doctor's visit has brought its own uncertainty. Yet through it all, Mike has continued to move forward.

Cancer has become a part of the family's everyday life—a reality they never asked for, but one they have learned to navigate together. Living with cancer is now their new norm.

Today, Mike's cancer is in an active phase and requires long-term cancer medication to help his body fight the progression of the disease. Along with managing the cancer itself comes the challenge of managing the side effects of treatment and medication. At times, it can be physically and emotionally exhausting, and there are days when simply getting through the day takes strength.

But Mike's story is not only a story about cancer.

It is a story about resilience.

It is about a husband and father who continues to show up for the people he loves. It is about a man who has spent his life working hard, building a family, creating friendships, and finding happiness in the outdoors. It is about facing something frightening and uncertain while still trying to live life on his own terms.

For Mike and his family, the journey continues one day at a time. There are difficult days, difficult decisions, and difficult moments, but there are also countless reasons to keep moving forward—family, friends, memories, laughter, time on the water, and the hope of more days together.

As one of our best friends, Mike and his family hold an incredibly special place in our hearts, and when the opportunity came for Fightstrong to support them, it meant even more to us.

Knowing how much their dad loves fishing, being on the water, and spending time with the people closest to him, Ryan and Brook wanted to do something special for their parents. Their idea was simple but meaningful: surprise Mike and his wife with a fishing trip where they could bring some of their closest friends, get out on the water, and spend a day together away from the appointments, treatments, medications, and realities that have surrounded their family for so many years.

We were so happy to make that surprise happen. Fightstrong Foundation donated the full fishing charter for Mike, his wife, and their friends, giving them an entire day on the water to fish, laugh, spend time together, and create new memories.

For us, this is exactly what Fightstrong is about. Sometimes support isn't about cancer itself. It is about giving someone a day where cancer doesn't have to be the focus. It is about recognizing the person beyond their diagnosis and creating an experience centered around who they are, what they love, and the people who have been beside them throughout their fight.

After fourteen years, cancer may be part of Mike's story, but it is not the whole story.

Mike is a husband.
He is a father.
He is a friend.
He is an electrician.
He is a fisherman and a boater.
He is a man who loves his family and values the people in his life.

And most importantly, he is still Mike—still fighting, still living, still making memories, and still looking toward the days ahead with strength and hope.

We are incredibly grateful to call Mike and his family our friends, and even more grateful that Fightstrong could play a small part in giving them a day together that was simply about enjoying life, being surrounded by people they love, and making another memory on the water.