A Big Day and A New Friend

Well, tomorrow is a BIG DAY!  March 7, 2012 is the day I found out I had cancer.  I realize that there are many people who get the news they have cancer and then aren’t around a year later, so I am very, very grateful and appreciative that I am still very much alive and healthy one year later!  This year, I am celebrating the fact that I’m around, that I’ve survived a year with really no major cancer issues, and that I can look forward to many, many more March 7^th’s where I can continue to say that I’m still kicking cancer’s big, fat, ugly, nasty, A*#!!!

I’m also appreciative of the past year for so many reasons.  The first few months were some of the hardest emotionally that I have ever been through.  But, I honestly am grateful because I really do feel like I’ve gotten a lot of perspective on life.  I understand so much more what is important and what isn’t.  I love and appreciate everything including my kids, hubby, and friendships so much more.  I have found that I have more empathy and compassion for others and am a lot less judgmental.   I’ve also changed a few things that needed changing, realized there’s no better time to seize an opportunity than now, gotten a job that I really enjoy, and I really feel a lot of peace and trust in life and in the Lord and I know that everything is as it should be.

So here’s to one year down and at least 63 more!!!

I also wanted to tell you that my last appointment went well.  It was very similar to the others where there was slight growth, no need for treatment at the moment, and I was still given the OK to continue on doing what I’m doing; which includes hard core training for the Ironman in June.  I’ve stepped up training for that and I’ll start posting some more about that in the next few weeks.

I’m also excited to tell you about someone I met.  His name is Kevin and we have some mutual friends, Guy and Rachel.  Guy and Rachel told Kevin about me and at first he thought they must be wrong because it is so odd to be young, active, a triathlete, and have CLL.  But guess what…Kevin is just like me AND we have the exact same type of cancer.  We got together and had lunch.  I was very grateful for that because I was able to ask him questions and find out that some of the things I experience, he does too.  He also works, trains for tris (he did the Kona Ironman last October), is a husband and dad, and deals with CLL.  

Unfortunately, Kevin’s cancer is a bit more progressed than mine and he will be going through treatment sooner than later, but he’s a fighter, just like me, and he’s in great shape, so I know he will be just fine.  He sent me a link to his blog and a blog about CLL.  Check them out!  They are great reads!

http://brokentriathlete.com 

http://www.cll-nhl.com

Also, this is a link to a cool article that was written about Kevin before and after he did Kona:

http://triathlon.competitor.com/2012/10/features/dispatch-kona-age-grouper-kevin-robson_63934

http://triathlon.competitor.com/2012/10/features/dispatch-you-are-a-hawaiian-ironman_64784

Kevin posts a lot more often than I have been and I realized how much I enjoy reading his posts, so I have made a commitment to post more often.  I’ll just post about life, Ironman training, etc.  No need to only post when I have something to say about cancer.   And, of course, no need for you to read everything, but if it can help others, like Kevin’s helped me, then it is worth it.

 

So, I think I’ll sign off now, party hard tomorrow: March 7^th, 2013, and in the next day or so I’ll post again about IM training and an awesome article I found about what to do/say and NOT do/say to someone when they find out they have cancer.

Rock on and TRIhard!