Update: The Big Casino

[txaslftist]

I posted a few weeks ago about my medical condition, that they suspected I would possibly have cancer in my kidney. Well, it turns out (we got the results last night) that I do. On December 6th they're taking it out. The five year survival rate with no recurrence rate is about 90%, so there's good reason to be optimistic.

When something like this happens, it gives one a chance to reflect on what is important in life, and I have to say, I'm a pretty fortunate guy. I own a home, I have three wonderful kids, a fantastic wife and friends and family galore, all of whom have offered their unqualified support and prayers.

Being a Democrat, believe it or not, makes a big difference. I have had the privilege of assisting a local candidate in his bid for congress, and it is really refreshing to see what looks like most Americans waking up to the disaster that is neo-con Republicanism. Ours is the party of the weak, the party of the poor and the party of those who believe in helping each other out as a people. To me the Democratic party is about something so simple it is sappy, and that is love for each other as Americans.

I have very much appreciated the privilege of sharpening my wits and my political savvy on Democratic Underground. The more time I spend here (and on Liberty Post and Kos and other sites), the more I appreciate the openness, the freewheeling debates, the civility and the genuine concern for each other that is Democratic Underground; and that is the Democratic Party.

I had a corporate law professor once who called cancer "the big casino". It's not a game anyone wants to play, of course, but there are certainly those who win and lose this fight. Of course, in the end, something is going to get each and every one of us, but at age 39 I'm in a profession where I'm just now hitting my stride, and my family is in a place where I'm not ready to give and inch to this collection of malignant cells.

I believe in a lot of things, but I'm hardly gullible. One thing I firmly believe is that although we have our differences, and although it is sometimes hard to find all of the common ground we share, the Democratic Party represents the greatest hope for our nation, and given the status of the US, the greatest hope for the world.

Democratic Underground may not represent the entire Democratic Party, but if anything represents its heart, it can be found here.

So keep on DUing.

[ananda]

1. Best wishes..

All good thoughts and prayers going your way.

[1620rock]

3. ...yes, here too!

You WILL fight this thing, and you WILL win it.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

2. My mom had kidney cancer in the 70's

and it was very scary. She passed away last year at 89.

Thanks for sharing your story and making me stop for a minute and thinking about how good life is, even when it isn't so good!

[villager]

4. I look forward to reading your posts six years from now...

...about coming up a winner in the Big Casino!

take care, best wishes to you & yours...

[txaslftist]

6. Thank you, Villager.

[Theres-a]

5. Sending good vibes

Brave soul.:grouphug:

[txaslftist]

7. thanks.

[newyawker99]

8. I am sending positive thoughts to you txaslftist.

I hope everthing goes well with your
surgery and I look forward to seeing
you on the boards soon.


:hug:

[txaslftist]

9. thanks.n/t

[Ron Green]

10. Best wishes, best health, best vibes to you !!

:thumbsup:

[Lisa]

11. best of luck!

As you say, survival rates are looking much, much better these days. Better than a casino, because the odds are moving steadily in our favor! Just in the past decade -- treatment and early detection have made a difference. And by comparison with the 1960s ... it's a whole new world. The willingness to talk about cancer, to fight it -- it's now routine for people to get treated and just get back to work. I subbed in for a co-worker who had cervical cancer -- she was back after less than a month, and 2 years later she had a beautiful baby!