Face It. Fight It. Survive It.

Throughout my battle with cancer, I have come to the conclusion that there really are only two possible decisions I could have made when I received my diagnosis. Back in December of 2007, I was told about the head and neck cancer along with the rough road I would take in order to survive. At this point, I was faced with basically halting everything that was in motion and laying it all down to fight for my life.

The two choices I had to plot the rest of my time here on the planet was to give up or find the will to fight cancer. Thinking about my family, the decision was a simple one- I was not going out without a fight. That is what is so important to new patients getting diagnosed with head and neck or other cancer. You have to fight for your loved ones, family, friends and colleagues. Giving up is not an option. It is not an easy decision to make, but you will never regret fighting as it gives you more time with the treasure we have here on earth, the love we have in our families and friends. As I found out, nothing I owned, lost, earned or gave up is worth more than the love you have for your family, their love for you and the blessing of true, good friends.

The first few days were tough, the rest of them tougher. The fight plan I had included staying creative doing what I loved- graphic design and creating electronic music. Many days, I was simply too tore up to participate, but I tried to at least have fun, think about the creative process (which kept me from thinking too much about the side effects) and generally, stay positive. My family were like angels who had a safety net open for me and kept me in the fight. It was nothing I did for myself physically, it was the momentum of caring supplied by my Home Team that made each day bearable, livable and one for the survivor books. I will be glad to answer any questions you may have regarding any of this, I realize this is all very generic and vague, so please send along your questions or other dialogue.

The fight during cancer treatment for me was just as simple as a daily effort in overcoming nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath, chemo brain constipation, diarrhea, not being able to swallow, mucositis, dry mouth, scratchy throat, no saliva, pain, no appetite, weight loss, hair loss, some neurological issues and other nasties with my surgery. It wasn't an epic battle at dawn with Megatron but a daily, if not hourly overcoming of the nasties. That's it. I fought from my bed and chair with a bunch of meds and as much nutrition as I could get down. No Transformer weapons of light sabres, just a daily commitment to Face It. Fight It. Survive It. For me, that's been enough. Day by day it gets better and I get a bit stronger. I wish all the other fighters and survivors strength and courage in their battle! Have a great weekend!

Diagnosis: Cancer, What do I need to know?

As a creative person working hard to earn your living in a crazy, shifting economy, getting diagnosed with cancer can be devastating. It is NOT the end to your creative journey! In fact, all your previous experience in the creative fields will serve you well in your battle with cancer.

In previous posts I mentioned that as a graphic designer and electronic musician I have been diagnosed with head and neck cancer. I am able and willing to fight every step of the way and you can too. Let's start with what you need to know:

- You are going to be shocked at first - it's alright and natural to ask , Why me? which is a good first step to going down the path to being a survivor. You must trust in your will to live and to fight for yourself and for your loved ones.

- You are going to be angry. My personal bout of anger lasted about 2 solid days of being really, red hot angry at the world and at life. That's alright, go to it and go through it. Remember, it is not your fault you are ill. There are also many variables that contribute to cancer in the body that it is a numeric probability and not the patient's fault in the least. Cancer cells are the result of damaged/compromised DNA. Don't waste energy blaming- use it to arm yourself for the fight.

- You are going to need help. You will need help from family, your doctor and the cancer community. You may even find an advocate who has the same diagnosis you have and is today, completely cancer-free. In my case, I was blessed with a wonderful advocate who told me what to expect every step of the way. Such valuable information helped prepare me for the treatments, side effects and wellness and recuperation. See my post on "The Home Team" below.

- You are going to survive. You are in for the toughest fight of your life. You are going to find the strength to survive! Today, medicine is at a place where a lot of previously fatal cancer diagnoses are treatable. You can win this fight! You arm yourself with as much knowledge about your treatment as possible, keep your friends and family close and work with your medical team to balance yourself.

Here are some great resources I have found:

Cancer Compass Information

The Cancer Compass Message Boards - where you can find out about various cancer

The American Cancer Society - You can find out about community resources and more

You can e-mail me here if you have any questions

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