Cancer survivor and founder of life-saving ministry competes at U.S. Open Pickleball Championships

NAPLES, Fla. — From fighting cancer to competing on one of pickleball’s biggest stages, this week means much more than a medal for Mark Palm.

Pickleball had always been part of Palm’s life, but when he was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma, he didn’t know just how much the game would come to mean, especially during treatment. "By the end of those five days [of chemotherapy treatments], you were really bedridden one day. The second day, you get downstairs, at least in my case. And the third day, I would try to get outside, and pickleball became that one thing that I could look forward to."

While Palm fought his own battles, he never stopped thinking about how to help others through theirs. That commitment led him to Papua New Guinea, where he helped start a medical life flight program to serve remote communities with limited access to care. "I saw a need there. And it was, people dying trying to get to the only hospitals. The only hospitals are 3 to 5 days away for over 200,000 people. And from that visit, we had the vision to start Samaritan Aviation. And the vision for that was, you know, how can we turn a three-day trip to the only hospital into a one-hour flight, save a life."

Palm is the CEO of Samaritan Aviation, an organization that provides emergency medical flights to people living in some of the most isolated regions in the world, helping turn multi-day journeys to a hospital into life-saving flights that take just hours.

And while pickleball helped Palm through one of the most challenging times in his life, he has used that same joy to give back, sharing the sport with communities in Papua New Guinea.

"What an amazing thing to go into a community that's these people have never actually held a paddle. They don't play sports like, like we do. introducing something new and offering something fun that the whole community can do. To me, it's just it's a fun sport that brings people together and allows you to have fun. "

Palm says his purpose is to keep making life better for people in his own backyard and across the world. Back in Naples, playing alongside his son at the U.S. Open Pickleball Championships, he is cherishing every moment and the memories he once wasn’t sure he would get to make.

"You get to about the fourth round of chemo, and you don’t know if you’re going to live or die. And you start thinking, at that time, my daughter was graduating from high school just in a couple months. And you’re like, man, if I could just survive to watch my daughter walk down and graduate. Now it’s like, man, if I could just play another round my son and bump chests and win some matches. It's just so much fun. It's great memories."

This week, Palm will get to do just that, competing alongside his son and creating moments that are worth far more than any medal.

Samaritan Aviation continues to support communities in Papua New Guinea through emergency medical flights, and those interested in supporting the mission can learn more through the organization’s Compassion Crew initiative, which helps fund life-saving operations in remote areas.