January 25, 2009

So there we were, Amy & I, just sitting at the kitchen table eating our sandwiches from the Nautical Deli here in St. Clair Shores, MI. We were discussing what our all-time favorite candy bars were and the merits of each.

When all of a sudden she says, “How did you finally learn to give yourself permission to be cured from cancer once and for all?” If you know my wife, you know that questions from left field are a regular occurrence. Her mind works forward and backwards, left and right…, all the time. It’s a good thing…to me. ;-)

I pondered her question for a few moments before beginning my partially thought-out response. “Well, all cancer patients want to get to the same, “purposeful place.” We all want to be cured first thing. But once we’re clear of the disease, we want to change how we live our lives. We want to do something meaningful to help others. We want to be a better person. We want to help others to become better people.

But if we come out of cancer and don’t find the pathway and guidance that we need, we will just get sucked back into the same old life we lived before being diagnosed. What a waste that would be!! We need to make sure we take the necessary time to learn from our cancer lessons. I guess learning to allow my self to picture being cured finally came through over time. It was not an easy thought to manifest.”

That’s why I wrote my book, This Time’s a Charm; Lessons of a Four-Time Cancer Survivor. Through my emotional journey cancer patients, survivors, loved ones and anyone who wants to be inspired, can arrive in that “purposeful place.” Ultimately it’s really a life manual for happiness.