At age 51, I wasn’t expecting to hear the words, “You have colorectal cancer and it’s in your lymph system.” And, I hadn’t planned on spending almost a year going through surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy to battle the disease.
But, that’s what cancer does. It sneaks up on you when you think you’re healthy and have nothing to worry about. Fortunately, I was diligent in getting an annual physical so the cancer was found quite early. Had I waited until I had symptoms, I may not have won the battle.
I still get my annual physicals and tell everyone I know that they should too. –Wayne Pederson
“Use your sunscreen!” These are familiar words today, but as a child growing up in the 50’s and 60’s, there was no such thing as sun screen and we didn’t know the sun had damaging rays.
Fast forward to 2006. I had a strange looking spot on my arm. It started to change in size and texture. A trip to the doctor revealed the spot was squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer. Since then, I have had six more occurrences. My semi-annual visits to a dermatologist keeps me on top of my cancer issues. –Shannon Pederson
Being cancer survivors makes us a member of that group of wonderful people who beat the odds with great courage and strength. Our fight against cancer has brought about some good things in or lives. We no longer ‘sweat the small stuff.” We are more quick to appreciate people and events. We have more compassion for others and their struggles. We have stronger faith in God and his role in helping us through all life challenges.
Our advice to everyone is to be on top of your health checks and make sure you are detected early for anything that’s not right. The only one you can save is you. Be thankful for every day.
