A Sycamore charity group is fighting back against cancer the only way it knows how: T-shirts.

The team of Ian Steczo and Chris Brown started their fight against cancer in 2010. The two have been friends since kindergarten; Ian’s father Larry was Chris’s soccer coach. When Larry Steczo passed away from lung cancer in 2010, Ian wanted a way to express what he was feeling at that moment, and thus the Cancer Blows T-shirt campaign was born.

Brown said Steczo is always playing around with T-shirt ideas but this one was different.

“I think the shirt was a way for him to unleash some of his feelings and emotions from the passing of his father,” Brown said.

Steczo envisioned a shirt that was inspired by the vintage Charms Blow-Pop artwork.

Originally the shirts were intended for close friends and family, and as a way for Steczo to cope with both the loss of his father and of his close friend Nick Calendo to colon cancer in 2009.

“It was my way of fighting back,” Steczo said.

The duo quickly sold hundreds of shirts to local friends and charity groups. That’s when Brown and Steczo decided to continue the concept and go online.

Since then, they have created a website and Facebook page, and sell T-shirts at cancer awareness events around Illinois. The group has sold over 500 T-shirts since March 2010. The funds from the shirts go to the American Cancer Society.

Jason Weilbaker joined Cancer Blows after seeing the work Brown and Steczo had done.

“I love to wear my shirt and have total strangers stop me, and for them to tell me their story,” Weilbaker said. “We have been fortunate enough to start conversations, and spark smiles and laughter.”

Weilbaker said Cancer Blows is an opportunity for members of the group to reach out to other people who have been affected by cancer.

“We have received great support, met a ton of amazing people and have heard many stories,” Weilbaker said.

Mason Graham was friends with Brown and Weilbaker before joining Cancer Blows working with event planning and public relations for the group.

“It’s a way to let your guard down about cancer because the shirts aren’t so serious,” Graham said. “Cancer does blow.”

Graham said the group is working on getting temporary tattoos and wristbands but their true legacy is the power of the iconic T-shirt.

“When someone sees your shirt and they smile, they start to tell you about someone they lost,” Graham said. “They can be crying and laughing at the same time. It’s pretty much the coolest thing you can experience.”