Heading into the Christmas holiday, Voice of America reporter Tara Hadavi found the perfect subject for an uplifting journalist profile—31-year-old ESPNLA.com writer Arash Markazi.

The Iranian-American sports reporter (pictured) has beaten cancer on two separate occasions, coming out of his arduous recoveries with a positive outlook on life. In the article and accompanying video piece, Markazi explains how he came to know about his condition:

“I had done a story about a basketball player that had Hodgkin’s. I didn’t even know what it was. I had to do research. The parents were crying and I said, ‘this is exactly why I got into sports journalism so I wouldn’t have to cover stories like this.’ I didn’t want to talk about kids getting cancer or anything like that. And then lo and behold, like a year later I get the same kind of cancer.”

Thanks to the Lakers, Markazi took no Christmas break this past holiday weekend, tweeting up a storm as the team lost to the Bulls and Kings.