This is the story of how a family board game helped me heal from cancer, one pun at a time.
In late 2022, I sat in my car and cried. I had just been diagnosed with Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia. It’s a rare lymphoma blood cancer. I was 46, a dad, and a former swimmer and college water polo player. Suddenly, I didn’t know how many years I had left.
Treatment was brutal. Chemo. Nerve damage. Most days, even walking was hard. My world shrank overnight. Everything I thought mattered—career, goals, ambition—just disappeared. I wanted to be with my daughters. I wanted to see them grow up. But I felt painfully alone. Scared. Like the world had moved on without me.
Then something unexpected happened. We started playing more board games. At first, it was just a way to pass the time that didn’t involve screens. But then it became a ritual. The kind of ritual that reminds you life still has joy in it. The kind that makes a house full of laughter again.
More info: skyliongames.com
Playing games with my daughters gave me something to look forward to. Something small and silly that felt normal. Games gave me back a piece of myself. A piece of connection
When we moved to Chapel Hill to be closer to family, I finally got to be the kind of uncle I’d always wanted to be. Not just the holiday visitor, but someone who shows up. Now I’m surrounded by five girls, from 2nd through 9th grade. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made.
During recovery, I tried designing games myself. Turns out, I’m not much of a designer. But at a local game night, I heard a group of creators venting about how hard publishing was, and something clicked. I’ve built companies. I know how to manage complexity. Maybe this was where I could help.
That’s when I discovered Making Monsters, a hilarious, family-friendly game from two of the best designers in the business
The game had been sitting on the shelf with another publisher, and nothing was moving. I reached out. We licensed it. And from there, my daughters, nieces, and I jumped in headfirst.
We tested the game. Rewrote parts. Invented new monster names. It became our project – a shared creative escape during one of the hardest years of my life.
My girls laughed so hard at the pun-monsters
My niece asked if she could “work for me someday.” My nephew called it his “favorite game ever.” My oldest daughter told me she’s felt closer to me this year than ever before, even though I’ve been sick through most of it and still struggle to walk.
That’s when I realized something bigger was happening. And it wasn’t just me.
My mom joined the board of the International Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia Foundation (IWMF) to help fund research. She sends me updates from scientists who believe we’re finally close to real breakthroughs. If we can crack Waldenström’s, which sits at the crossroads of many slow-growing blood cancers, it could open the door to new treatments for lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and even chronic leukemias.
It’s become a family effort. I’m making monsters. She’s helping save lives.
I’m not fully recovered. I still live with pain. But this project, with my daughters, my nieces, my family, has given me something to fight for. Something that brings joy and purpose and a whole lot of ridiculous laughter.
If you’re going through something brutal, I just want to say: I get it. I’ve been there. In pain. Scared. Not sure what tomorrow will look like.
What helped me wasn’t a miracle cure. It was something weird and joyful and ours. For us, it was building monsters. For you, maybe it’s baking. Or birdwatching. Or storytelling. Or crafting something together with your kids. What it is doesn’t matter. What matters is that it’s yours. And that you do it together.
That’s how you get through the darkness:
Tiny moments. Dumb jokes. Real time.
That’s what saved me. And that’s what’s keeping me going.
Joe is a father, cancer survivor, and founder of Sky Lion Games. His first published board game, Making Monsters, developed with his daughters during treatment, launches on Kickstarter this September during Blood Cancer Awareness Month, and he would love your support.
Sign up to get notified when the game launches and back it on Kickstarter. Separately, Joe plans to donate at least 500 games to pediatric cancer patients in cooperation with the Starlight Foundation.
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