Announcing an Important Change to My Profile!

Photo: Blue and Yellow Sunrise, by 1greenthumb

A new dawn, a new day. This week, I celebrate changing my profile from the matter-of-fact "cancer patient" to the quietly joyous "cancer survivor!"

It's been almost three years since my journey began.

By the way, when I was diagnosed nearly three years ago I was asymptomatic. I went to the doctor because I had an annoying lipoma on my back. The bump bothered me when I was wearing a flak jacket and a rucksack in Baghdad 2007-2008. When I came home from the war, I had the lipoma checked out with a CT scan and biopsy. The "good news / bad news" report: the lipoma was benign and easily operable, but the CT scan revealed an unexpected problem in my neck. A couple of biopsies later and the next thing I knew, I was being scheduled for emergency surgery.

Quite frankly, if I am ever the one bumped from the OR, I will say a quiet prayer for the other guy instead of complaining about the delay!

Who knows how long I had undetected cancer, or how much further it would have spread before I even noticed it? Early detection absolutely improved my odds of surviving. So take it from me: don't wait till there's a problem to get a check-up!

It seems so many people have been affected by this disease! Almost everyone knows someone who has heard the chilling diagnosis. Of course, all cancers are not the same, and I am fortunate that mine was relatively common and slow-growing. I remember a former boss and a co-worker who both succumbed to a faster-growing form of cancer. In both cases, the diagnosis came too late for treatment. These are the tragic stories that we all most often think of whenever anyone mentions the C-word.

We don't hear as much about the survivors. People who survive an ordeal rarely mention it again--unless to help someone they see struggling with the same thing they've been through. When I was diagnosed, I was surprised--and comforted--by the number of people with whom I worked every day who pointed out a scar that I'd never noticed before. They'd already been down the road I was heading down. Now that I am no longer an active patient, it's time for me to keep an ear out for someone else who may have just heard their own bad news.

I am mindful of the fact that things don't work out so well for all cancer patients. That's why I am "quietly joyous" and not deliriously exuberant. I am profoundly grateful to the scientists and doctors who are working for a cure. I've benefited from an accident of birth, in that had I been born years ago, or in a different country, things might not have turned out so well for me. I know I am fortunate to have been given me the best possible care throughout my protocol.

Our experiences shape us. I won't say that I glad I have cancer, but I will say it has changed me in good ways. I don't know if there is a purpose behind some of the challenges we face in life. Some folks believe there is a purpose and I don't argue with them. Is it coincidence or destiny that we have joys and trials? I am not sure the question has an answer. I think possibly God designed a random Universe. At any rate, I do know that when I woke up this morning, I took notice of the simple fact that body and soul were still intact.

It's going to be a great day.