I am Tired.
I am tired of hating cancer, of fearing cancer, of avoiding cancer, of whispering its name in hospital hallways, of skirting cancer in cold doctor's offices.
I am Energized.
I am energized to see my friends survive cancer, thrive beyond its cruddy touch, its immeasurable reach. I cheer when we win one and I howl when we win two.
I am Determined.
I am determined to be positive. I think it is naive and childish to hope. I believe you need to be brave to hope. It hurts to hope. I hope every day.
Everyone takes their turn in the barrel with cancer.
I am Not Hiding.
I an not hiding from cancer any longer. Not me. Not her. Not him. I am not hiding through ignorance of cancer. I want to understand how it works, spreads and destroys. I want you to understand, too. Together, we can beat cancer. I can't do it without you.
I can Beat Cancer. You Can, too.
Let's beat cancer. I know I can't cure cancer. I leave that to Paul Song and the cancer pros. But I want to beat cancer one-on-one, in the cases that affec tme and mine. I want to beat cancer in the boides of those I love and those I don't care for.
I Don't Know How.
I don't know how to beat cancer. Do you? Did you get a colonoscopy? Did you get a breast exam? That's it; that's all I know.
I want to help other people learn what they can do about cancer, before it arrives, before it spreads. I want to share success stories of people who have the disease and how they beat cancer. I want to tell people about those I know -- or know of -- who have lost to cancer.
So I'm going to tell some stories. I'll try to be brief. I first started hating breast cancer, because breast cancer took my mom. For more than three decades, I've railed against breast cancer.
But cancer has many forms. It's not a shape shifter; it's a dark force that emanates from the core.
So let's tell some stories. I'll to start with Timmy Dolan, who was the tipping point for me.
