I’m Truly Grateful and Thrilled....

Sat, 16 May 2009 12:31:50 -0500

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised in the slightest at the overwhelming response that I have received on the new ‘Written Word’ section of “Voices of Survivors” but I am. I can’t thank everyone enough for their kind support and amazing emails that I have received. Each day when I wake up, I think about “Voices of Survivors” and what all this year will hold for it as an organization and soon to be foundation and I get excited. Everything that has been accomplished so far is all do to those whom have been willing to share their ‘voices’ with the world and each ‘voice’ shared can help so many and touch so many more. I can’t thank everyone enough for being a part of making “Voices of Survivors” what it is and what it will become. Look out because this year is going to be amazing!

My One Year Cancerversary...

Tue, 12 May 2009 13:49:50 -0500

It was one year ago today that I was lying in Mt. Sinai hospital having my surgery to eradicate cancer from my body. I never in a million years would have thought that cancer would have found its way into my body but I guess at that point I was just being naive about this disease. Today I look back at all that this year has held and I have definitely had some serious ups and downs but at the end of the day, I AM A ‘SURVIVOR’! This year will be one that will be truly magical and powerful for “Voices of Survivors”! So many amazing people have shared their ‘voice’ both on video and in the ‘Written Word’ section of the website. Each person that accepts the challenge helps so many others who find themselves on this road at whatever point in the journey that they are. Let’s all keep pushing forward and grow “Voices of Survivors” into one of the greatest organizations/foundations out there for ‘Survivors’!

One Year Ago Today

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 14:21:49 -0500

Wow...Time has really flown by...well not really. Most of the time, it seems that this has been the longest year of my life. I guess people really like to just say that saying: "Time has really flown by" for some reason, but like I said, not this year. I remember at 4:30 p.m., last year on this day, I was sitting in a doctor's office of whom I had never met and my results were being faxed over from my actual doctor's assistant. This was being done before he had the chance to give me my results. I know that this bothered him when he found out but it was what it was and it happened. When this new doctor picked up the fax off of the machine, I could see it in his expression, "Crap, I have to tell this guy that he has cancer and I've only talked to him for less than a minute". My stomach sunk immediately and I was gripped with fear. No matter how many times a doctor has to say tell a patient that he or she has cancer, I think it still has to bother them because they know how much it is going to hurt the patient and their family. He knows the fear that they will feel and he has to help calm them during this incredibly difficult time. He did the best that he could but I still had to go out to the hall and cry. Finally, I pulled it together and went back in to talk with him about what I was faced with. Not before seeing another person passed out in the hall. I thought that they must have gotten the same news but theirs was just a blood sugar incident. They got off lucky.

Later that afternoon, my primary urologist and now oncologist called me and apologized for having to have had to find out that way that I had cancer. He immediately scheduled an appointment for me to go into his office the very next day to discuss all of my options. After listening to all of the various types of treatments available to me, I chose to have a Robotic Radical Prostatectomy. He suggested to me whom he thought that I should choose as a surgeon and so the journey began. This journey has brought me to this place where I am now and to be honest, I’m pretty darned happy. Some days are still scary as I have to go back in every three months and be tested to see if the cancer has come back or not and it is impossible to not relive that first moment over and over when that test time comes but what can I do, this is my lot in life.

“Voices of Survivors” is an offshoot of my cancer and something that I am incredibly proud of and look forward to working on each and every morning when I wake up. Without me having been diagnosed with cancer, it would have never come into existence. So am I glad that I got cancer? No but yes at the same time. That sounds so odd to say but if I can somehow keep cancer from coming back, it was worth it because it has made me a better person and given me the opportunity to meet so many amazing people and hopefully help other as well. This year will be an amazing one not just for me but for “Voices of Survivors” too. I am a ‘Survivor’!

New Website Uploaded

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:30:58 -0500

"Voices of Survivors" has launched this blog as well as the "Voices of Survivors Bicycle Tour" blog tonight. Each blog will serve a different purpose. This blog will be used to further expand what the current news page does by sharing more of my general experiences as I work to develop this organization into what it will become.