How do you "beat" cancer?

Well recently some people I know have been going through some tough times and it makes me look back and wonder how I got through cancer (besides the meds....).
Fighting diseases, inner demons and such isn't a battle, it's a war (I hate to use those terms out of respect for those in the Armed Services, buts it's all I could come up with).

I think two things help. One is surround yourself with friends and family who offer a great support system and lean on them. Don't just hide away and cower! Use them (It took me awhile to ask for help).

Second, every morning get up and look at yourself in the mirror and say "Cancer (or what ever the demon is), I'm going to fight you all day today and do my best to win!"
At the end of the day, look back and yell at the nastiness again. You might not always come out on top, but try as hard as you can. "(Demon), you may have won the battle today, but I fought you hard and I'll fight even harder tomorrow! Too many people are counting on me. This war isn't over!" Every day do that. The mental aspect of winning far outweighs the physical.

I know it sounds corny and simple, but it's the attitude you have to take.
I hope this helps explain things and maybe help others out there who are struggling.

A couple of quick updates...

I'm feeling pretty good. The big thing I'm still dealing with is the neuropathy in my feet. I'm going to start looking for a PT job now that things are settling down a bit, but I really can't be on my feet for more than 3-4 hours at a time. We'll see where this goes.
Still dealing with this weird feeling of anxiety once in awhile that is kinda scary. Just feel it in my upper chest. Coincidentaly, it happens when the kids are around... I don't see a pattern.

Last night I was really proud of myself. As most of you know, I have been riding here and there the last six months but I've been picking up the frequency a bit. Problenm is that I need these long rests during the ride that just tacks on more time. No big deal, but not the rides of pre-cancer. Well last night I told myself there will be no stopping. If I can't make a hill, I get off and walk. If I need a rest, fine...just keep moving. except for a quick tweak of my brakes, I did just that. Kept moving. It feels good to finally be able to say that.

The other project I'm working on is getting a website up and running that will allow people to solicite donations and pledges for atletic events they are doing for charity. My first thought was to form a non-profit. Well that ain't happening. Met with a friend who runs a non profit and she showed me what I have to do. Lawyers, Board of Directors, CEO's, etc. I really have no desire to go thru all of that at this point. I need something between a true non-profit and just a hack job. I just want to keep it low key for now and legitimate. So if anyone has any ideas, let me know.

That's all for now... see ya...

Horton Hears a "What the F#@$" ?

Do you know who this man is? Well if not, his name is Tony Horton and he's the inventor of P90X. Most of you have probably seen the infomercial of a bunch of fit people working out while you were staying up late at night drinking beer and eating Fritos (I know I have).

Well around half through my chemo sessions I decided that I'm going to need to get myself back into fighting shape (Ok riding shape) and I want to look good for my lady again. P90X seems like a simple to follow yet intense work out, mix in riding and it's just what I need.

For the time being I'm doing a hybrid program until I'm back up to full capacity... figure a few weeks to get used to moving again...

Well today I did "Core Synergistics" and all I can say is "Holy Hell"... This guy is the mutant spawn of Satan and Jillian from Biggest Loser.

I couldn't do all the exercises and my feet felt like they were in cement shoes due to the neuropathy, but I promise to keep up with the program as best I can.

Look at that smug smile on his face....

Hmmmmmm....

That's been going thru my head lately. This blog has become a big part of my "therapy" thru all of this (plus I don't have to talk to any of you people....).

So I can't get on here every few days and say "Still no cancer and my feet are numb" (great news but not very exciting), so what do I write about now?

A few options I guess..

1) I can just keep writing about what I'm/we're doing to get our lives back on track and normal again. Probably be pretty boring involving alot of work out/bike stuff, projects around the house and the kid's school stories... ehhhhh.

2) I can also just kill the blog all together but then I actually have to talk to you folks...yuck.

3) I can make up some other disease and write about that...

4) Talk about my giving back plans that I have (and my need to get off my ass to get started)... BINGO!

So start looking for a combination of #'s 1&4 and we'll see how that goes.

Thanks for all the great words of encouragement over the months and the congrats over the last week or so. I hope people read this to get inspired to start living and realize that life is short.. enjoy it!

So what's going on?

Well I promised further details so here's the dealio as things stand right now.

This past Wed. was my 12th and final round of chemo and on chemo days I usually meet with Dr. Davis first and we just check things out and go over tests.
Connie and I thought it was strange that we didn't hear from him for the 5 days or so after the PetScan and leading up the appointment. It was unusual because he's very good about not keeping us waiting for news, good or bad.
Well he called us into the office and personally I saw a glum look on his face... "OH CRAP!" was the only thing going thru my mind. Well to make a long story short, he forgot about the scan and never received the results so it wasn't doom and gloom.

Obviously as most of you know by now, everything came back clean and clear and I'm cancer free.
There's always a chance that it could come back and a slight chance it could pop up some place else, but I'll be put on a vigilant screening process to combat that. In fact I have another scan right around Thanksgiving.
Vigilance is the key to fighting colon cancer. Again, I emplore you all to stay on top of it.



Last night I decided to watch the Stand UP 2 Cancer special. I wasn't going to at first because I wanted to be far away from any reminders on my last day of chemo. But then I realized that cancer is a big part of my life now and I have a responsibility to do anything I can to help wipe out this disease. It amazed me how much I ended up crying, both tears of sadness and tears of joy. There's where many stories out there that I couldn't ignore.
We decided to make a donation and again I was amazed when it took us about 40 minutes to get thru.... others must have been touched too. Thank you all.

Full day on the soccer fields today for the boys... I'll probably see most of you out there at some point...Later

We have a Winner....

Yep... you read that right, I beat cancer this time time around!

Further details to follow later this week!

Tuesday stuff...

Well this is it.. tomorrow should be the last session! Can you believe it?
I say "should" because I still haven't gotten the results of my PetScan yet. We did do a scan before the chemo and nothing was there so I can't see why/how anything is there now, but I need to be prepared just in case.
Feeling pretty good. Feet are still numb though. I've upped my fiber the last few days, but still can't seem to kick this damn Diet Coke problem I have. I've definately limited it, so that might be a start... I can beat cancer, but not soda...go figure.

Got out for a ride with a couple of good friends yesterday. Felt pretty good all things considered.
In fact I was introduced to some new trails at the Res. I didn't know about. Marcus headed out for the first time in years and did a fantastic job! (Although he needs a new bike...wink wink, nudge nudge).

Stay tuned for some info on an Octoberfest type celebration featuring Stoney's beer and Ladder Ball. It will be held here at ScopeThatColon HQ.


I'll let everyone know what's going on when I get home Wednsday (or maybe Thursday..Noah has soccer practice that night)

Later

Friday is in the books....

Well Friday is over and done with.
I was at the hospital at 6:45 for a Petscan to see what's going on inside me. A Pet Scan is very similar to a Catscan but a bit more general in where it looks. It's basically looking for inflamed molecules that a cancer cell may have attached itself to. The problem is that I won't know the results until Tuesday at the earliest (damn holidays...).
People have asked me if I'm nervous. I can't say I'm nervous, maybe aware is a better word. I'm pretty confident that I'll be ok, but if not, I'll take it on again like I did this last time.

Cancer has changed me (from an introspective point of view anyways....). I definately feel more at ease with myself...call it inner peace. I'm OK with who I am and will be stronger for what's to come later in life.

Other than that, yesterday afternoon I looked Earl square in the eye and said "I'm going for a ride!" OK... it wasn't a ride of mythical proportions, but I did get out....