Part 3 of 3: National Cancer Prevention Month 2020
Hey, I’m thankful for this leap day of February to squeeze in the last of my 3 posts about Cancer Prevention and Awareness.
My cancer case has been a challenging one, no doubt. I’m about 2.5 years into my journey of wrestling Stage IV cancer. I’ve had a long series of surgeries and treatments (that are ongoing) and I’m doing incredibly well. Today’s techniques and treatment regimes are allowing me to live a life full of normal activities. I am working and I’m staying engaged with others. I’m doing all the things I like to do. I’m physically active, riding my bike as much as I can – closing in this month on 2000 e-bike miles on the roads of Sonoma County. It’s all pretty incredible.
None of this would be possible without 3 key things:
1) My support network which we call “Team Crafty”. It is second to none and full of very special superpowers – the love, hope, faith and support of family, friends, fellow patients, medical pros and volunteers who are helping me daily with this challenge. I say regularly this element is as powerful as anything that be can run through your IV lines. It is strong medicine.
2) My access to incredible healthcare resources. I am being treated at one the top 10 hospitals in the United States, the UCSF Helen Diller Cancer Center in San Francisco. I have both great health insurance and access to top medical professionals working on my specific type of cancer. This puts me in a very unique and fortunate group in our country. I could not be more grateful for what I have. Statistics unfortunately show affordability and access to cancer care have dramatic impact on survivability rates.
3) The global network of organizations, professionals and volunteers working to advance cancer science, technology and worldwide collaboration. Please watch this 6-minute video below from Olympus. I saw it very early on in my cancer journey. The optical surgical equipment referenced here was used in many of my surgeries. It has never been lost on me that Gail Fritsche and I, along with millions of other cancer patients worldwide, would not have access to this amazing technology without strong global collaboration, cooperation, and sharing of breakthrough technology and information. I have learned on my cancer journey that this is no time for us to be building barriers and cutting off information. Fighting cancer is a global, collaborative effort. This must continue.
Olympus Documentary: A Better Quality of Life
Gail Fritsche
Colon Cancer Survivor
Video: https://youtu.be/CrPNb-h3ZXQ
I hope this short series of posts has provided you with some new insights about what’s possible today for cancer treatment, prevention and awareness.
Please heed my advice:
Get educated.
Get screened.
Support cancer research.
Keep rollin’,
Crafty
P.S.
Some notes …
– Gail Fritsche and I were recently featured the Olympus Corporation’s “20 Voices for 2020”
– My daughter Nat and I participated in the San Francisco “Cycle for Survival” event on Feb 7 benefitting Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Research. We were joined by a great group of my colleagues from Salesforce – led by Jane Hsu, Marissa Rosen, and Cathryn Curoe.
Please join us in Penngrove CA, on Saturday May 16th for our 3rd Annual Conquer Cancer bike ride and celebration. Checkout our RIDE page for details.