Yesterday I had an appointment with my oncologist to review my recent PET
Scan, chest ex-ray and blood work.  He congratulated me by saying,

“you are now an “official” Cancer Survivor“.  I was diagnosed in 2005 and
now it’s 2010.  I guess five years is the accepted time span for being an
official cancer survivor.  I don’t necessarily believe that.  I
believe if you have been diagnosed with cancer, even if the
diagnosis was just five minutes ago, and you are still alive, you are an
official cancer survivor.

I realize that after five years, your chances for remaining cancer free
improves considerably.  If you were diagnosed with cancer yesterday, five
years ago, or 10 years ago , and you are still alive, you
are a cancer survivor.  Do you wants to continue
being a official cancer survivor?  If so, it’s up to you; not your doctors.
It’s like your stock broker told you when he was presenting an investment
opportunity, “Past results do not guarantee future results.”  You
need to take responsibility for your continued survival.  You need to be
proactive.  You know, things like having a healthy diet, exercise, avoiding
cancer risks and things like that.

Prevent Cancer by living a healthy lifestyle

I know I just said that you can prevent cancer from coming back by living a
healthy lifestyle.  I also know that for some people, that is easier said
than done.  But did you know that living a healthy lifestyle can become a
habit.  It can become automatic.  You can live a healthy style
completely automatically without even thinking about it.  Let me give you
an example.  Let’s say that you are driving your car and another car or a
pedestrian suddenly darts out in front of you.  Dou you consciously weigh
all your options?  Do you think, “I should bear left?  Or, “I
should veer right? or “I should hit the breaks”?  No, of
course you don’t.  You do what is best robotically without even thinking
about it. How did you learn to do that?  By driving every day for a period
of time.  The more you drive safely the more it becomes a habit.  You
become a safe driver.  The same thing is true developing the habit of
living healthy.  How many people are nervous about or even fail their first
driving test?  Most of us.  Most of us will falter and forget things
we should do as we embark on a healthy lifestyle.  But like driving skills
living a healthy lifestyle will become habitual.

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