I wanted to write my first blog talking about the beginning of your journey.  It all starts with that “C” word.  The first 24 hours will be spent in shock, disbelief and ultimately hysteria.  I can tell you from experience that even when you suspect you might have cancer, it doesn’t change your reaction.  There is absolutely no way to prepare yourself.

After the initial shock, you will awake the next morning at which time you will begin to feel that sense of urgency.  In one of my later blogs I will address this issue in depth.  But for now, I want to talk about the urgency you will experience which will define your new mission in life which is to learn as much as you can in one search attempt.  Nothing else in your life will be important.  This is one of the oh so many stages that you will experience.

Your initial attempt to learn everything you can will be met with great frustration.  The little bit of information you do glean from your searches will raise more questions and bring less clarity.  Cancer isn’t easy.  In fact, it is complicated, relentless, and unpredictable.  It strips you of your confidence and dignity and destroys your spirituality.  It unhinges you mentally.  Not only is cancer an unchartered territory for those who have been diagnosed, it is also the least understood disease in the medical community.  Accept that.  It is a slow digestion process.  You will need to read and reread the various information that you find many times.

Your first question will be “Why me?”  There is no answer except to say that cancer is not prejudicial.  It doesn’t care about race, creed, or age.  It is narcissistic.  So the simple response I have to your question is “Why not you?”  Reports are that cancer will affect one in three people.  It is the second leading cause of death in the world behind heart disease.  However, that trend is changing and most believe that it will now affect one in two people.  What you will learn throughout your journey that with this disease, the key to success is early intervention.  The other important item to remember is that you can only fight cancer from a position of strength.

With this in mind, my hope is that through my blogs, I can dissect my journey in smaller segments so that it might help to make it easier to understand.  Stay tuned for my next blog.  Many blessings.