Raz Levi, a participant of Larger Than Life’s “Choosing Life” cancer survivor program, and Israeli dancer joined the Canadian Li-Am Dance Festival in Niagara Falls, and Toronto this past November.
Testimonial from Raz
My name is Raz Levi, I’m 22 years old from Jerusalem. About two years ago, I finished a three-year battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma – a journey that began with 27 aggressive tumors and a deep belief that I would overcome this disease. Hodgkin’s lymphoma is considered a relatively “well-researched” cancer, with a broad range of effective treatments and generally good chances of recovery.
Unfortunately, I fell on the wrong side of the statistics.
Very quickly, we realized that my disease was unusually resistant. One after another, every treatment line failed: seven different chemotherapy protocols, two intense months of
radiation therapy, and two types of biological treatments – none of them stopped the cancer. After exhausting all options but one last treatment with very low chances of success and knowing that I did not qualify for any clinical trials or experimental drugs
anywhere in the world, I reached a point where I had to accept that death was a very real possibility.
During this period, I decided that if my time was limited, I would celebrate life “all the way to the grave.”
After three long months in which it seemed that the immunotherapy wasn’t working either, something finally changed. Slowly, the disease began to retreat, and for the first time I felt I might be moving away from the danger zone. But the immunotherapy alone would never be enough – I needed a bone marrow transplant.
Because of the serious long-term consequences, I initially refused the transplant. The turning point came from the person I loved most: Noam, who wanted more than anything for me to take the chance to save myself, passed away from cancer herself. The day after her funeral, from the lowest place I had ever known, I called my doctor and told him I had changed my mind – I would go ahead with the transplant.
A month and a half of total isolation in the hospital followed. In the end, I was saved. I beat the disease.
But after the “victory” came something, I did not expect: a deep sense of failure. I couldn’t cope with the grief for my friends who hadn’t survived, and I struggled to find my way back to normal life. For a full year I went in circles, stuck in place, afraid to really step back into life.
This year, with a lot of hesitation but also hope, I joined a very important program of Larger Than Life for cancer survivors called “Choosing Life” – led by the incredible Dafna Ofir. This program gave me exactly what I was missing: the emotional tools and support to return to a rich, meaningful life. As part of an unforgettable journey on a ship, I was able to reconnect
with my inner spark and rediscover myself – something I truly believed I had lost after finishing treatment.
That “spark” is what allowed me to stay true to who I am, to go against the current when needed, and to chase after the things I love – especially my great love: dance.
After I shared my story with my group, an incredible opportunity appeared. Together with Larger Than Life Canada, and one of their board members Ronit Weinreich, I was invited to fulfill a dream: to return to dancing – in a big way.
In early November, that dream came to life. Together with Dafna, I set out on a
powerful and emotional journey following movement, soul, and my inner spark – a week in Toronto and Niagara Falls at the “Li-Am” dance festival, founded by Ronit, where I also had the privilege of sharing my story on stage for the first time.
For three days, from morning until the early hours of the night, we danced, sweated,
laughed – and cried. Above all, I got to feel the rhythm in my bones again, to experience the thrill that comes with dancing, and to enjoy the safe space that Ronit created for all of us.
This journey was much more than a trip or a festival for me.
It was proof that after everything I went through – the fear, the loss, the treatments, and the loneliness – it is possible to choose life again. Larger Than Life Canada and the “Choosing Life” program gave me back my future, my joy, and my courage to dream.
Thanks to them, I am not just a cancer survivor.
I am living, dancing, and choosing life – every single day.
