8 Years Later: My life after cancer

Eight years ago my life perspective changed. A lot. Facing death will do that to you….And not in a cool way, like jumping from a plane or wrestling with alligators.

It was 8 years ago this month my doc broke the news I had testicular cancer. Not exactly what I expected at 26. I was the picture of health. Hell, I’d never even been to the hospital save for a few stitches in high school.

So to hear that cancer had taken over my body was a shock. I was invincible, how had death come knocking at my door? It was unexpected and I didn’t completely understand when I first heard him use that big “C” word. I approached it in typical “guy” fashion – I just wanted to know how to fix it. Of course, when he told me the fix, it became a little more frightening. I never cared much for knives…….

After the surgery, I spent the next 5 years getting my blood drawn and tested every week, enduring monthly CT scans, and having the docs make me blush once a month. But it was worth it, because today, I can say I survived thanks to their efforts. There was a lot more that was involved too, but I’ll be honest, I don’t want to share all yet.

What I do want to share is that over the last 8 years, I’ve changed quite a bit. For example, I really don’t like hospitals – you’d be surprised what they’ll take if you let them give you some happy juice! But seriously, cancer did make me pause a bit and rethink where I was going with my life. I know that sound cliché, but you find that clichés have a bit of truth behind them….That’s why they’re used so often.

It wasn’t necessarily immediate, but after being diagnosed and then during the healing process, I realized that climbing the corporate ladder faster than the bloke next door wasn’t as important as spending time with my family and friends. I realized that what is important is the smell of my kids’ hair after a bath. The cool mountain air of a camping trip. The sounds of an owl calling in the night. The time spent with family around the dinner table.

Trust me, in 5 years no one will remember you putting in the 80 hours each week at the office to finish some rush project. But I guarantee that your kids/family will remember the memories you build with them for a lifetime.

Today, I live for the memories I am creating. Pointing my BMW’s handlebars through the twisting corners of the Sierra Nevadas with my cousin and his wife. Motorcycle trips with my folks to parts unexplored. Taking the kids to a movie or even just a bicycle ride around the neighborhood.

I’m not saying I wouldn’t have done all this if I hadn’t seen death a little closer than I wanted. But I do think that I’ve paid a little more attention to the actual experience and set a little more of my time aside for the memories.

Marc Warnke, a good friend and mentor wrote in his book that love is spelled T-I-M-E. Well, thanks to amazing advances in medicine, the prayers of family and friends, a God who felt I needed a little more time on earth, and my own refusal to quit, I have a little more love to share.

To everyone who has made a difference in my life, who has supported me at every step, who has made my experiences possible: Thank you.

Until next time,

~T.S. Franklin

Advertisement