People survive

I don’t understand why we don’t focus more on the “miracle” cases in cancer. There are way more of them than I ever realized. I once was completely terrified of Stage IV because it was a death sentence in my mind. Truth is, It might still kill me… But no one can say when or for sure that it will. There are people who give up from the outset (which is entirely their prerogative), and without any sort of treatment, Stage IV is absolutely a runaway train. But with treatment, perseverance and hard work, it can be managed and the hands of time cane be slowed somewhat. I know of a woman who was diagnosed around the time I was with Stage IV. Sadly, she is several months gone because she opted out of treatment. What a brave choice to make, but it is not one I could make for myself. For me, I choose to fight as long as I can. I have come across so many people now who have taken a grim prognosis and not accepted a death sentence and are here today to tell the story. Most of whom are cancer free today. Perhaps that can be me too. Time will tell. In the meantime, I will act as if that will be the case, and keep pursuing the beautiful goal of wellness. I am hopeful that it is possible that I can be one of those amazing stories. So far, I am doing well, and I will take that! These days, I basically take it two months at a time, going from one set of scans to the next and enjoying life in between. I continue to work hard at my health, and so far, it seems to be helping. It certainly can’t hurt, that’s for sure. I look forward to a day when I can walk up to a cancer patient and say “you know, 30 years ago, I had stage 4. Don’t ever give up hope. You can do this”, just like a wonderful man did to me on Sunday. I want to be one of those people who gives others hope and helps them to believe that they too can do it. There needs to be a better way of showing stage IV is just a classification, not a death sentence. Patients shouldn’t focus on statistics, and shouldn’t just assume that their outlook is dismal, even if the doctors say it is. Every one of the miracle people I have met have been told of their poor prognosis by their doctors before their situation turned around and improved. Don’t let anyone put an expiration date on you. I don’t. That’s up to God…