How It Started

The idea for Windsor Tough started in late 2016 when Marty Hogan was lying in a hospital bed at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, recently diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. His wife Whitney was pregnant with their first child. Marty’s medical team discussed having a life-saving blood stem cell transplant but finding a suitable donor became a challenge.  Instead, he was fortunate to endure three-and-a-half years of daily chemotherapy to keep him alive and cancer-free. Marty felt so fortunate to have this treatment available to him but couldn’t stop thinking about the people who didn’t have this option.  For some, the only option is a blood stem cell transplant, for which they rely on a life-saving donor. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those who know Marty know how proud he is to be born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.  “Windsor Tough” became a mantra throughout his years of chemotherapy and helped him adopt a mindset to not only conquer the odds and beat cancer, but to do so with love, humility, grit, and a big smile and sense of humor.  

 

Marty made a promise to himself while in the hospital that if he ever survived and was given a second chance at life, he would use it as an opportunity and blessing to help positively impact the lives of other people.

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Hockey, sports, and community helped him through his cancer journey and the organization will encompass all these areas with the hope of improving the lives and outcomes for other patients.

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