Below is a blog from Sean Swarner. I went to college with Sean at Westminster. He beat cancer twice and has climbed all seven summits. Very incredible things...but my favorite thing about him is what he says below. In these times everyone needs to be thankful for what they have. You may not have as much money...but if you have your health...you have everything!
"I will survive. My cancer will not."
It's always in my face... this whole "cancer thing." People get in touch with me all the time and share their cancer stories. They tell me about their personal struggles with the illness and how difficult they have it, how everyone has it. Every time I get emotional when I read those stories, when I talk to people, and when I visit them in the hospital. One thing that I cannot ever get over, that's absolutely incredible every time I hear from someone I know is battling well... is their Attitude. I can't stress how important attitude is while going through the cancer journey from being sick to well again. It changes your life. I just got an email from a fellow in CA who is battling cancer and read my book, (Keep Climbing). He told me that one line resonated with him more than anything and he started crying when he read it because he was looking for something simple, yet powerful to help him through: "I will survive. My cancer will not." I tell people all the time that cancer is the worst thing that's ever happened to me, but it's also the best thing. It's taught me so much about life and made me realize it's not about having the best cars, the nicest house, the coolest clothing... it's about being true to yourself and doing the best you can every day of your life. You never know when cancer will strike. Make that ANYTHING... you never know when anything can hit you at a moment's notice. It could be cancer, it could be a car accident. Why do people constantly feel the need to prove themselves to others? Why do they always feel like they're not good enough? Why do people worry about stupid things in life when tomorrow might be their last day on earth? It probably won't be, but it could be. There's an old quote about life that goes something like this: "Live every day as though it's your last....because one day it will be." Maybe as we head into the weekend, we should all think about how lucky we are that we have our friends, we have our health, and we have so many things so many aren't fortunate enough to have. Let's all reflect on our lives, do some thinking about how lucky we truly are. Even though our society and our economy isn't exactly the greatest right now, we are all very lucky people and we should rejoice in the simple fact that we're alive.Sean Swarner
Posted by About CancerClimber at 1:59 PM 0 comments
Friday, February 20, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Kick canser's ass update #4
It has been communicated to me on several occasions that it has been quite some time since I have stolen a few moments of your lives to bring you up to speed with the goings on, in ours.
Well, we have been quite busy with this and that and I will attempt to give you a taster of what’s been on the menu but firstly, before we proceed I need to clarify something.
Recently we read an article written by a woman by the name of Kristin Karr with advanced stage liver Cancer and as part of her ongoing ‘healing’ she put pen to paper. She pointed out that previously when writing she would usually write the word ‘cancer’ with a capital ‘C’….. and with this, she felt that in some sort of way it gave the word strength. So, with this in mind in future ‘cancer’ was to be written with a small ‘c’ with the intention to belittle this horrible little scribble, in fact from now on we will be swatting the little critter even more by spelling it ‘canser’ and thus giving the word the distinct lack of respect it deserves……
OK, so here we go… firstly there is the diving incident…
Erin’s treatment consists of three drugs spread over 3 weeks with one week off. The first cycle however was only 2 drugs as she was still healing from surgery so ‘Avastin’ could not come into the game until cycle 2….
This tale surrounds the first time Erin had the full triple whammy of all 3 drugs together…… treatment went well and as usual we went on our merry way to Whole Foods to stock up on canser slapping leafy green organic veggies! NO PROBLEM!
The drama actually started the Sunday morning after treatment on the Friday..(it’s a bit like the gym…the day after you’re a little sore …but two days after…….yep you know!.)
Following breakfast ‘the boss’ complained of feeling a little light headed….. ‘go lie down was the deduction’….. Unfortunately this time ‘the boss’ didn’t quite make it and collapsed head first into the wooden coffee table with a dive Greg Louganis would be proud of….. the result was the entire rescue services of Chardon, Ohio with all lights a blazing and my precious Sunday in front of the telly with the Manchester United game on the Fox soccer channel ruined!.....the nerve of the woman…. (Well she did spend 6 hours in a collar and a back board so I suppose she suffered enough). Im glad to say she came through her little scare and is none the worse for wear, which is more than we can say for the coffee table!
Im happy to say there have been no more of those types of incidents since and long may that be the case.
Following Erin’s second full chemo cycle we were sent for the first set of evaluation scans, which is the only way, aside from physically touching the lump and offering our ‘professional’ opinions of categorically knowing if the cocktail of drugs being pumped into her is actually doing anything. I must admit to being more than a bit nervous when going through the process as the last time we did was during that dreadful week I would sooner forget…. And hope one day to do just that.
A CT scan and a bone scan was the order of the day and once Erin had finished her appointment with what looks like a giant doughnut, then began the horrendous process of going home and waiting for results. I cannot help but liken this time to that of a convicted criminal waiting for his sentence to be passed down and im sure that anybody who has been in this situation would concur.
Now, after the event it seems like the time passed quickly but im sure at the time it seemed far from that. The day came and the doctor delivered his verdict. Not what he had hoped for BUT….. there was no advancement in the size of the primary tumor and she had displayed what is described as a flare phenomenon in the main area of metastasis in the spine.
This ‘phenomenon’ I have since learned looks like a bright glow when scanned and is a very positive indicator of healing of both bone and the destruction of canser cells and statistically patients displaying this ‘phenomenon’ have responded very well to treatment. So to analogize the situation thus far we have slowed the boulder rolling down the hill and we have actually stopped the boulder from rolling any further…… now we dig our heels in and start to push it backwards.
Our next set of scans is roughly six weeks away and as of today we have great difficulty in finding the lump at all… I want to feel like we are winning but I realize that we are far from done and this thing is no rollover, but we are gaining momentum, there is no question about that.
The time is drawing closer for us to eventually return home and begin to live as normal a life as is possible. I am sure we have far outstayed our welcome at the Painter residence and Ralph & Lauren (The cats) have become far too comfortable. I will return home on the week of the 16th and Erin will follow some weeks later as she is attending the Young Survivor Conference in Dallas Texas, which is a meeting of hundreds of young women, some canser free, some not who are living their lives in the shadow of canser. Im hopeful that this experience will give Erin another boost of strength and the comfort that she is not alone, as well as having the opportunity to be brought up to speed on the latest developments in scientific research and the search for a cure.
This brings me to what WE are doing to help in the search for a cure for this terrible disease and also what you can do to help. On July 29th Erin and Nora (Erin’s Mom) will be taking part in the Susan G Komen Breast canser 3 day walk. Erin's father and I will be on the crew. This is a national event that takes place in more than 15 states and will be attended by hundreds of thousands of people touched by breast canser from survivors to newly diagnosed women or the family and friends that stand by them. Eighty-five percent of the net proceeds of this event go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. All advancement in breast cancer research, treatment, education and prevention in the last 25 years has been touched by a Komen for the Cure grant.
To read more about this event you can go to http://www.the3day.org/
The funds raised over those three days may very well find the answers that will keep Erin forcing me to watch American Idol and the Bachelor until we are old and grey and may stop your mother, sister, wife or girlfriend from going through what we have experienced these last three months.
If you would like to donate please follow the link below to Erin’s personal page and to all those who already have, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. This is a goal for Erin and much more than just a fundraiser. She wants to raise the most in Cleveland, and very well could do it…She is currently 3rd with Team ‘Erin’s Hope’ in first place.
http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/ClevelandEvent?px=3011012&pg=personal&fr_id=1294
On another positive subject, we have just returned from a fabulous weekend break in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania which I can definitely say was well needed after 4 consecutive weeks of business travel. We stayed at the Woodloch Spa, which was an amazing and extremely relaxing place and our ‘chakra’s’ are truly cleansed.
Aside from the obvious spa delights this trip was made all the more special as on the Thursday 5th Feb I asked Erin the question that has never before passed my lips and Im now extremely happy to report that we are officially engaged and Im also now officially broke!! Its an investment I fully expect to mature well and be a gift that keeps on giving for many, many years….
We march on………………..Adam
Well, we have been quite busy with this and that and I will attempt to give you a taster of what’s been on the menu but firstly, before we proceed I need to clarify something.
Recently we read an article written by a woman by the name of Kristin Karr with advanced stage liver Cancer and as part of her ongoing ‘healing’ she put pen to paper. She pointed out that previously when writing she would usually write the word ‘cancer’ with a capital ‘C’….. and with this, she felt that in some sort of way it gave the word strength. So, with this in mind in future ‘cancer’ was to be written with a small ‘c’ with the intention to belittle this horrible little scribble, in fact from now on we will be swatting the little critter even more by spelling it ‘canser’ and thus giving the word the distinct lack of respect it deserves……
OK, so here we go… firstly there is the diving incident…
Erin’s treatment consists of three drugs spread over 3 weeks with one week off. The first cycle however was only 2 drugs as she was still healing from surgery so ‘Avastin’ could not come into the game until cycle 2….
This tale surrounds the first time Erin had the full triple whammy of all 3 drugs together…… treatment went well and as usual we went on our merry way to Whole Foods to stock up on canser slapping leafy green organic veggies! NO PROBLEM!
The drama actually started the Sunday morning after treatment on the Friday..(it’s a bit like the gym…the day after you’re a little sore …but two days after…….yep you know!.)
Following breakfast ‘the boss’ complained of feeling a little light headed….. ‘go lie down was the deduction’….. Unfortunately this time ‘the boss’ didn’t quite make it and collapsed head first into the wooden coffee table with a dive Greg Louganis would be proud of….. the result was the entire rescue services of Chardon, Ohio with all lights a blazing and my precious Sunday in front of the telly with the Manchester United game on the Fox soccer channel ruined!.....the nerve of the woman…. (Well she did spend 6 hours in a collar and a back board so I suppose she suffered enough). Im glad to say she came through her little scare and is none the worse for wear, which is more than we can say for the coffee table!
Im happy to say there have been no more of those types of incidents since and long may that be the case.
Following Erin’s second full chemo cycle we were sent for the first set of evaluation scans, which is the only way, aside from physically touching the lump and offering our ‘professional’ opinions of categorically knowing if the cocktail of drugs being pumped into her is actually doing anything. I must admit to being more than a bit nervous when going through the process as the last time we did was during that dreadful week I would sooner forget…. And hope one day to do just that.
A CT scan and a bone scan was the order of the day and once Erin had finished her appointment with what looks like a giant doughnut, then began the horrendous process of going home and waiting for results. I cannot help but liken this time to that of a convicted criminal waiting for his sentence to be passed down and im sure that anybody who has been in this situation would concur.
Now, after the event it seems like the time passed quickly but im sure at the time it seemed far from that. The day came and the doctor delivered his verdict. Not what he had hoped for BUT….. there was no advancement in the size of the primary tumor and she had displayed what is described as a flare phenomenon in the main area of metastasis in the spine.
This ‘phenomenon’ I have since learned looks like a bright glow when scanned and is a very positive indicator of healing of both bone and the destruction of canser cells and statistically patients displaying this ‘phenomenon’ have responded very well to treatment. So to analogize the situation thus far we have slowed the boulder rolling down the hill and we have actually stopped the boulder from rolling any further…… now we dig our heels in and start to push it backwards.
Our next set of scans is roughly six weeks away and as of today we have great difficulty in finding the lump at all… I want to feel like we are winning but I realize that we are far from done and this thing is no rollover, but we are gaining momentum, there is no question about that.
The time is drawing closer for us to eventually return home and begin to live as normal a life as is possible. I am sure we have far outstayed our welcome at the Painter residence and Ralph & Lauren (The cats) have become far too comfortable. I will return home on the week of the 16th and Erin will follow some weeks later as she is attending the Young Survivor Conference in Dallas Texas, which is a meeting of hundreds of young women, some canser free, some not who are living their lives in the shadow of canser. Im hopeful that this experience will give Erin another boost of strength and the comfort that she is not alone, as well as having the opportunity to be brought up to speed on the latest developments in scientific research and the search for a cure.
This brings me to what WE are doing to help in the search for a cure for this terrible disease and also what you can do to help. On July 29th Erin and Nora (Erin’s Mom) will be taking part in the Susan G Komen Breast canser 3 day walk. Erin's father and I will be on the crew. This is a national event that takes place in more than 15 states and will be attended by hundreds of thousands of people touched by breast canser from survivors to newly diagnosed women or the family and friends that stand by them. Eighty-five percent of the net proceeds of this event go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. All advancement in breast cancer research, treatment, education and prevention in the last 25 years has been touched by a Komen for the Cure grant.
To read more about this event you can go to http://www.the3day.org/
The funds raised over those three days may very well find the answers that will keep Erin forcing me to watch American Idol and the Bachelor until we are old and grey and may stop your mother, sister, wife or girlfriend from going through what we have experienced these last three months.
If you would like to donate please follow the link below to Erin’s personal page and to all those who already have, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. This is a goal for Erin and much more than just a fundraiser. She wants to raise the most in Cleveland, and very well could do it…She is currently 3rd with Team ‘Erin’s Hope’ in first place.
http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/ClevelandEvent?px=3011012&pg=personal&fr_id=1294
On another positive subject, we have just returned from a fabulous weekend break in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania which I can definitely say was well needed after 4 consecutive weeks of business travel. We stayed at the Woodloch Spa, which was an amazing and extremely relaxing place and our ‘chakra’s’ are truly cleansed.
Aside from the obvious spa delights this trip was made all the more special as on the Thursday 5th Feb I asked Erin the question that has never before passed my lips and Im now extremely happy to report that we are officially engaged and Im also now officially broke!! Its an investment I fully expect to mature well and be a gift that keeps on giving for many, many years….
We march on………………..Adam
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