When life gives you lemons…

 

Twenty-two years ago. I finished my last chemotherapy for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. The notes in my diary from that day simply state, “This is my final treatment, and I thought it would never be finished. I kept watching for the last drop.”

That was a long time ago. Even though my diagnosis was considered treatable but not curable, the longer I remain in remission the lower the odds are of recurrence. That was true at ten, fifteen years, and even more true now at twenty-two years!  I am blessed to have had a tolerable treatment regimen and a favorable outcome.

Many of you know that our family took my diagnosis combined with the loss of my father to leukemia and turned it into a passion of raising money for blood cancer research. Over the past twenty-one years our family (The Blanton Bunch) has raised and donated almost $780,000 to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, now known as Blood Cancer United. In addition, The Light The Night Walk has become a key event in The Woodlands raising funds for blood cancers. Lemons to Lemonade, my friends! 

I can’t believe it has been twenty-two years…

Perspective

Business is better than it should be at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the parking garages and waiting rooms are packed.  I spent some time there last week for a routine cancer follow up¹.  Simply being in that hospital, no matter the reason, offers a true sense of perspective.  It caused me to reconsider the magnitude of my own life problems.  Seriously ill people, who are fighting for their lives, come from around the world to be treated there.  Those of us in Houston or even Texas are blessed this facility is so accessible.  The people you see there run the gamut of stages of a cancer battle.  They are both young and old.  Some are newly diagnosed, others in remission.  Many are in the midst of rough treatments, some are just having a follow up, and others are holding the hands of their ill loved ones.  The common thread is cancer. 

When you think things are going really badly consider what others are dealing with.  We all deal with challenges, but a little dose of perspective, like the waiting room at M.D. Anderson, can shed a new light on the severity of our problems.  Even for those there as patients, the perspective gained might be one of community and not being alone.  Life is hard, we were never promised it would not be.  I have lost family and friends to cancer and have friends battling it now.  My wife and I have spent more time at M.D. Anderson with family, friends and loved ones, than anyone should have to.  The perspective gained by a few hours in a busy waiting room is powerful.  Perspective…

Be Blessed…

¹ I am a 15 year Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma survivor and I received a clean checkup report last week.  My wife and I have also both lost parents to cancer.  Please help our family raise funds for blood cancer research at The Blanton Bunch.