If you watched Monday's Dancing with the Stars, then you know it was a chance for the contestants to share their most memorable years through dance. Well, that's exactly what Robert Herjavec and Kym Johnson did while dancing the waltz to Engelbert Humperdinck’s “The Last Waltz.” The Shark Tank star wanted to pay tribute to his late mother, who died from ovarian cancer in 2006. In his blog for Entertainment Weekly, Herjavec explained why it was so important for him to honor his mother, all while raising cancer awareness.
He writes,
We need to do more. We must do more. Cancer doesn’t care if you’re tall, short, small, large, someone’s brother, sister, father or someone’s mom. Seemingly without rhyme or reason it strikes, hurting those we love and cutting lives short.
Herjavec hopes through his blog and dance to his mother's favorite song that others will have "serious conversations" with their doctors and make sure they're getting regular checkups.
As you can watch below, Herjavec and Johnson's dance was quite moving, but what's even more touching is the way Herjavec talks about his mother, who he loved dearly. "We knew we had the waltz this week, and wanted to stay true to the classic and grand nature of the dance," he writes. "But it wasn’t until Kym played that particular song for me in rehearsal that the memories started flooding back. I can still see my mom dancing around our apartment, playing this song over and over again and singing, 'I had the last waltz with you...'"
Not only is Herjavec grateful for getting the chance to recognize his mother, but he's also touched that so many people have thanked him for his dance, all while opening up about their personal experiences with cancer. He writes, "We have all been touched by cancer in some way, shape, or form. Thank you for sharing your stories — words can’t do it justice but it really meant so much to me."
