ATTITUDE!

Hello again!

I had the awesome opportunity to attend the 2012 Utah Cancer survivorship Day over the weekend with my wife and it was amazing. If you or someone you love has ever had the disease you know that other survivors and their care givers become an extended family of sorts. You have all shared many of the same trials so there is a common bond that you really do not need to verbalize. It was especially neat for me to see my wife run into other survivors she has met through numerous activities and functions over the past two years. The love they feel towards each other is very genuine.

I wanted to touch on the overwhelming theme behind a few of the speakers who addressed us at the conference which was ATTITUDE. There seemed to be a correlation between knowing you are going to defeat cancer versus getting beat by cancer.

One of the speakers, Dov Siporin and his wife Tara, spoke about his ongoing battle with stage 4 colon cancer he was diagnosed with back in 2008. He was given about 3 months to live but here he is fighting it four years later. His attitude towards his cancer is nothing short of amazing. He decided he needed to fight it as long as he could and not simply give into the negative feelings that can result from this type of news. After 5,000 total hours of chemo and 6 surgeries he refuses to just give up. Even though he continues to deal with tumors invading his body he recognizes the joy of each day he has with his wife and kids. He showed me and everyone there that you control the time you have here.

Another speaker, Dr. Jerry Sonkens, talked about his mom and aunt who had breast cancer back in the 70's. Unfortunately his mom had decided to let the cancer defeat her attitude and died a few months later in extreme pain. His aunt, however, decided not to let the cancer dictate her life and to do whatever she could to fight it. She had a never quit attitude and passed away a year ago from old age.

A great attitude will not alone cure someone of cancer but those that choose to fight it with a great attitude will enjoy the time they have left and increase their chance of beating the disease altogether.

I learned I need to have a better attitude towards my life and be grateful for every moment I have been given.