May 3, 2005
LiveStrong
Friday, April 29, 2005, Peter Jennings posted a letter thanking well-wishers for their support in his fight against lung cancer. He started his letter this way: “Yesterday I decided to go to the office; I live only a few blocks away. I got as far as the bedroom door. Chemo strikes.” There’s nothing gentle about chemo. The purpose behind it is simple, “let’s poison the patient until they can’t take any more. Let’s use a poison that kills more cancer cells than good cells.”
It is a tough battle. One I understand. I wear a yellow wristband with the words LIVESTRONG embossed into it. There are two reasons. One, the proceeds from the sale of the wristbands goes to the Lance Armstrong Foundation established to help those fighting cancer. The second reason I wore, and still wear, the yellow wristband is that I hoped some of Lance’s courage and toughness would rub off on me in my own fight.
My son, Stephen, is a competitive cyclist and often says Lance Armstrong owes his yellow jerseys to his battle with cancer. That is where he learned to endure the pain it sometimes takes to be a champion. Peter Jennings is no lightweight. He will keep trying. He will make it past that bedroom door. He will “work” through this, even though his work schedule will need to be somewhat lighter during chemo. Thousands of friends, including competitors, put my name on their prayer list. I’m going to put Peter Jennings on mine.
On a personal note, I am in my ninth month of chemo in a battle against colon cancer that my doctors tell me I am winning. My particular treatment includes many of the new drugs that have proved effective against lung cancer. I have three more months of chemo ahead of me. Two good things have come out of it. I have a new easy-to-care-for hair style. I just towel off the top of my head after a shower and I’m ready to go–no hair spray, no brush or comb required. Second, I finally found a diet that works–but I would not recommend it.
What does this have to do with more partner income? More Income is important but it is not everything that is important. You can purchase LIVESTRONG wristbands by going to www.store-laf.org.
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