Jan.12/11 CANCERVERSARY!!

Geez, where to begin with this post?? I guess first and foremost, thank you for all the birthday wishes that I've received so far. I am truly blessed to have all of you in my life.

Today, I turned 43 years old....more importantly, today marks the 3 year anniversary of my diagnosis with a stage 4 brain cancer. What a whirlwind experience this has been. I have been at the lowest of lows and the highest of highs during this time. There have been times where I was scared whether or not I would see tomorrow, to more recently, believing that I am still here for a reason. The primary reason is my daughter Faith...I guess we unknowingly named her that for a reason. That child is my shining light, my reason, my purpose. I believe that it is because of her, that I am still on this earth.

The past 6 months have been very trying with friends passing from cancer, to as recently as today, with the news of yet another friend who was diagnosed yesterday with a lung cancer. It is so sad that we are all directly or indirectly affected by this rotten disease. You can't seem to carry out a conversation without the "C word" being brought up anymore. My personal opinion, after researching quite extensively, is that we all have the cancer genes in us, and that they become active around 7 times throughout our lifetime. If they catch you at the wrong time, i.e. during a sickness or other extremely trying time in your life, your body's immune system is not able to fight them off and "boom", the cancer cells invade.

You have to have the will and desire to beat this thing. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I think it is my stubborn attitude that allows me to say "I have cancer, but it doesn't have me"! Sadly, some of us will lay down and give in, thinking that there is no hope. It is those people that choose not to fight that will be taken over in mind, body and soul by the cancer and thus experience a shorter life span. In saying that, trust me, I am not naive, if the cancer spreads throughout the body and begins to eat at you from the inside out, all you can do is attempt to maintain a good quality of life for however long you are on this earth.

Going forward, I have made a vow to myself to only allow myself to be surrounded by people that have a positive influence in my life. Life is too short (for all of us) to be stressed out and worrying about things that are not within your control. Stealing a quote..."the only thing you can control in life is yourself".

To sum it all up....I guess I am living proof that the Doctors are only human too. They can only guesstimate statistically, how long you will be around. They told me that the average life span with my type of cancer was 15 months and with me individually, that I could last anywhere from 1.5 to 2 years. Well, here I am at year 3! How do ya like me now!! ;)

I wish everyone a year filled with health, happiness and love. We ALL deserve it!!

I guess before I sign off, I'd better update my overall status.....Still going for brain MRIs every 3 months (next is Feb 15th with a results appt on Feb.28th). The botox shots I received in my leg seem to be wearing off a bit, but I cannot receive anymore until a 3 month span has elapsed. (reasoning is that the body could develop a resistance to the injections if done earlier) So as it stands, I will get more Botox on Feb 11th unless a cancellation comes up.

Until next time.......

Ed