Friday, May 27, 2011

3 Years Later...Life is a blessing!

I am only a few days from my 3 year anniversary of my diagnosis of PC Cancer and want to share my progress with everyone. As you read in my last post, I ran a marathon in January and continue to run and exercise to help me stay in shape. I will also be running in the 2011 ING New York City Marathon in November. I am so exited about this race, it will be epic!

Just 3 years ago, my life seemed like it was over. It was still the darkest day in my life to hear those words, you have cancer. You don't know how to act or what to say when you find out, you feel trapped and uncertainty of your future and you think about your family and how important it is to love on them everyday. I thank God for my faith during that time. I knew God was still in control which comforted me. You don't always understand why bad things happen, but knowing him allows you to know that everything will be okay.

So you ask, how are you 3 years later? I can honestly answer that I am doing very well and am in the best shape of my life. I have very little side effects from the surgery, my last PSA a few months ago was untraceable and I am a 3 year survivor! My incontinence is virtually healed, only very slight leakage when running long distances, and the ED is much better and am happy with the outcome. I am 34lbs lighter than 3 years ago and have completed 22 endurance races in that timeframe.

I feel very blessed to have caught my cancer early and thankful for all the positive things that have happened to change my life for the better. I know it's not always the same outcome for others and I continue to pray for you during your journey. I promise to continue to use my platform to educate others, promote awareness for proactive screening and raise money for research.

Life is so short, love your family and friends everyday, bless others and Dream BIG! Don't wait until tomorrow to do the things you have always dreamed about for tomorrow may never come.

I dedicate this post to my son Tyler and my wife of 20 years, Peggy, they are the Loves of my life!

God Bless!
Darren