I was 33 years old that May 6th of 2004 , the news came like a bucket of cold water , when your doctor tell you " listen , the good news is that you are going to be ok, the not so good news is that you have cancer" holy shit right? what do you mean I have cancer, my daughter is 10 fucking years old I can't leave her alone, I'm way too young to go through this.
He said we have to operate today, you wait you die, is that simple.....well I have to call my mom , I have to talk to my wife, what about my business? figure it out boy, none of that will matter if you're dead.
Next morning 6 am I am at the operating table, surreal was to mark on my body the side where my surgery was supposed to take place < left side, like any bad shit that has ever happen to me.
The following days were a nightmare,not being able to piss or walk, or eat or breathe was just horrible.
I remember 2 weeks after my surgery trying to walk from my front door to the gate of my house, 30 fucking steps and it was the single hardest thing I could have ever done, what happen to that strong man that could run 26 miles? what happen to that animal that would ride 100 miles on his bicyle and then come home to swim for an hour on the ocean? I was beaten, and my journey hadn't even started.
what followed was 16 weeks of excruciating pain between radiation treatments and jtests and injections, not being able to hold any food but still gaining weight as if I was eating for 3.
I had the love of wonderful people and the love of not so wonderful people (or at least it felt like love) but my indomitable spirit kept me afloat, my spirit made it to where the pain and the fear never took hold of me.
sometimes I feel like cancer is just around the corner, listening to me, waiting to hear me say "I'm cancer free" just so that it can come back.
There are 28 million people sufferingg this horrible disease,this disease that does not respect if you are a young stud , or an old grandma , or a young mother of 3 beautiful kids, we must come together to say NO, I said NO, I will not die this way! Not today not this year not at 34!
Join the american cancer association, help where ever you can, when ever you can, join the fight against cancer, say NO, unfortunately , statistics show that somebody you know will be affected with this disease.
I apologize for this non business blog, but ultimately, my blogs are abput winning are about surviving, and I, I am a survivor.
Art Hagopian
