I was first diagnosed with skin cancer , Melanoma , 6 years ago following a battle with my GP to actually get an appointment with the relevant department at my local hospital.
Anyway following a biopsy and upon hearing the words ' you've got cancer ' my life changed but on reflection 6 years later, not for the worse. I've always had a optimistic outlook , I'm not religious and I don't believe in fate. So after the initial shock of feeling the fear of not seeing my daughters , wife , family and friends again and then recovering from the surgery , my philosophy of in for a penny , in for pound became a driving force.
I knew I had to get fitter so I started to run and in 6 years completed 3 marathons ( London twice) and numerous half marathons ( Sydney being my fave) and looked and felt the best I ever did . I pushed myself at work and gained a first class honours BSc degree and had articles published and I had been headhunted which would have moved my career to a different level . Weekends away with my friends , were WEEKENDS away and nights out became the BEST nights out. Emotionally I really opened myself up - I always wore my heart on my sleeve but now I wore it on both sleeves , on the front and back. I've always been opinionated but now I opened my mouth and spoke my mind if I didn't appreciate others opinions ( usually related to discrimination or other hateful language ).
So I had a good 6 years and wouldn't have done it any differently ! But of course , cancer has a way of challenging you again , just as you're turning your back on it and 2 months ago I was diagnosed with secondary melanoma in my lymph nodes. I've had 2 lots of major surgery and 15 cancer filled lymphs removed. So I'm on another road to recovery and adapting to a new me and seeing where this journey takes me.
