Yes, Cancer sucks, but at least we have great individuals out there either working in the medical field helping others in some way or those on the back end of the medical field (behind the scenes so to speak) trying to and sometimes finding cures for such diseases. Like these two gentlemen I have the honor and privilege to call my Angel friends: Elliot Kahen, who is a Molecular Biologist who helps to cure Cancer in children; and his father, Howard Kahen, who is Shadowmaster at Pasco-Hernando State College, President at Reflections Medical Aesthetics and Diagnostic Radiologist at Radiology Associates West Pasco.
Once you have Cancer, it is always, in some way shape or form a part of your life. It will be there forever, there is no forgetting about it. It never goes away, mentally anyway. They don’t tell you about that part of it when you are diagnosed or going thru the procedures. Or after for that matter. For me, getting the treatments and the surgeries were hard, draining, cold, exhausting (both mentally and physically), but the hardest was after. The constant reminders of Cancer everywhere you look, the constant reminder when looking at yourself in the mirror every day, the remembrance of when you couldn’t look at yourself in the mirror because of the surgeries, the scars, the mental images of those times that never truly go away, the images of the loved ones worrying about you, the image of your spouse or caretaker taking care of you on a constant basis, the loved ones lost to such a disease, and then you remember and have the knowledge that you are in fact, still here to celebrate your life. You stop, you smile at yourself in the mirror, you acknowledge that time and then you move on.
Move on – that’s right – I said it. Move on. You give yourself a little time to think and ponder and then move on. Remind yourself that you fought Cancer and won. You move on because you fought it like a champ and won! You are a Warrior, a Fighter, a Survivor! You are here to Live Life to the fullest and by God you are going to do it!
You also remind yourself that you are always, in a way, still fighting Cancer in everything you do and everything you eat. Your top priority is yourself! Exercising for a healthier you and eating the proper foods for a healthier and better you. Your life is precious and your body is a precious vessel that should be treated as such because you only have one life and one body to live in. So, why feed it junk food, why not exercise to take care of it, why do you even have to ask? It’s simple, I workout and give 110% because it makes me a better person, it makes me feel better about my self and I know my health is better because of it. It’s that simple. For me anyway.
I will say this, that maybe some don’t… Cancer was a gift! Yes, a gift. It wakes you up from your foggy existence here in life and makes you see things that you didn’t either see before or appreciate before. Most don’t or didn’t see it until something like this comes up and smacks you in the face and says “Stop and Look Around, Life is Too Short to Keep on Like This! What are you doing that you think this is important in life?” It makes you rethink everything you ever knew or thought you knew.
There is no doubt in my mind that there are Angels around us, looking over us, keeping us close. There is no doubt in my mind that my Lord and Savior are always there and have always been there for me. Even when I thought I was alone. I have no doubts!
So, my Angels, my message is this… love yourself for exactly who you are, for exactly your shape and size, for exactly your hair color, love yourself and others because at the end of the day, none of that stuff matters. Take care of yourself and your body because it’s the only self and body you have. I’m not going to love someone for their hair color, for their shape and size, or whatever else. I’m going to love them for what’s inside, the way they take care of themselves, the way they treat me, the way they treat others and my family. That’s it.
Now, go and remember to look up and smile because you are loved and cherished more than you realize.
CHEERS MY ANGELS ~ WITH LIFE, LIGHT, POSITIVITY, STRENGTH, BEING THE WARRIOR WITHIN, GUIDANCE, and LOVE!
Photos by Joshua Weinfeld Photography – 
(Manzanar Flag – Photo from 1942-1945)
