It’s impossible to sum up in a few lines the extraordinary life that Tara Miller lived and the legacy that she leaves behind. In only 29 years, she lived more life, had more incredible experiences, made more memories and touched more people than most people could ever even dream.

There has been so much focus on the last 16 months of Tara’s life and rightfully so. Driven by a passion for a cure and a compassion for others, she accepted the challenge to be the voice and inspiration to help others. However, in looking back, we know it was the 28 years prior to her sickness that ultimately prepared her to gracefully and heroically walk this final journey. It wasn’t by chance that Tara one day became so incredibly strong, overly generous and just so much fun – that is who Tara always was. Couple that with her legendary humor and wit and that is the person that we proudly honor today.

She absolutely loved life and all of the people in her life. She inspired everyone she encountered to live better, love more and to truly make the best of every single day. Tara loved people and making everyone else’s day better. Throughout her battle with cancer she never said “Why Me?” or “This isn’t fair” because that was just not who Tara was. Instead, when she found out she had cancer, she spent her time making sure everyone around her was okay, quietly making us all stronger and better people. She did not hide behind her cancer, rather, a woman who never desired attention, stepped out to share her unfiltered story with others and led by example to teach us all what strength really is.

Tara will never fully know how many lives she touched - either by a simple gesture or through her courageous battle. But importantly, we all do and we thank you for bringing Tara into your hearts and sharing today and remembering her with us.

While she lost her battle on October 14, 2014, Tara’s strength, her spirit and her inspiration live on through her family, her friends and those whose lives she touched.

Although we cannot use this program to say everything we want to say about Tara, that is ok because her unwavering spirit, her zest for life, her compassion for others and everything her beautiful smile embodied will carry her legacy on for years to come.

And through it all, showing us she had 1,000 reasons to smile. #makethebestofit

5 Full brain surgeries

1 Full neck dissection/Partoid gland removal

4 Rounds of Gamma Knife Radiation

6 Weeks of Proton Radiation

3 Weeks of full brain radiation

4 Rounds of ipilumimab

10 Months on and off of BRAF/MEK inhibitors

6 Rounds of PD-1 Antibody

When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile.