Living Inspite of Cancer: Livestrong Wear Yellow 10-2-10 Day

The following post is from my husband.  Today he is a cancer survivor.  A year ago we had no idea that cancer would be on our agenda in 2010.

Friday, October 1st marks the seven month anniversary of my husband being cancer-free.  He will have to get routine screenings every quarter for several years to ensure his cancer has not returned.  So while our family relishes every day we have together, in the back of our minds we are aware of how precious life truly is.  Our sense of gratitude, our understanding of the important things in life and our ability to shed what's not important are all underscored by our experience with cancer.

Get out and wear Yellow in recognition of those you know who have gone through cancer.  October 2nd is Lance Armstrong's 10-2-10 day, which is the anniversary of when he was first diagnosed with cancer.  Heed the message from my husband.  He knows through his experience that being diagnosed early can mean the difference between a long life or a life that you long for.

Last night, Kevin Farley, 45, a friend and work colleague passed away.   He was battling melanoma for about 5 years.  The last 2 years in his battle, cancer tried hard to interrupt his life.  It did NOT hit him hard enough to dispirit or sour his mood here at work.  He was a mountain biker, an outdoors man and enjoyed living in Santa Cruz near the beautiful Pacific Ocean.  He will be missed by us at work and even more so by his family and dearest friends.  As a cancer survivor myself (prostate, March 31,2010), the back of the mind comes to the front of the mind when you learn of a battle outcome like this.  I talked to Kevin about cancer.  It is important to talk about cancer and even more important to stay in front of cancer.  Here is the public service announcement:  

Get yourself screened for skin cancer annually.   Use Outlook Calendar.   Don't procrastinate.  Don't forget. Keep your kids protected with sun screen and a hat.  Its easy and one of the nicest life long gifts you can give them.  And, find a great internist/general practitioner to keep you screened for all of the other stuff.  A great internist pays attention to contributory factors like family history.  Its amazing and humbling when your doctor finds cancer early.   Be lucky like me and stay ahead of cancer.