“We had each other. That is how we won.” - Lando Calrissian

For almost seven weeks I have been trying to determine how to tell you who “we” is, what exactly we are fighting against, and how we are going to win.

I think the best way to do this is to dive right in to each part of the equation...

1. What are we fighting against?

On 12/23/19 I found out I had cancer. I went in for what I thought was going to a fairly routine sinus surgery to open my nasal passages; turns out it isn’t so routine when a malignant tumor is found in the back of your sinus cavity at the base of your skull. On 12/31/19 I found out the cancer had already metastasized to a couple of lymph nodes in my neck and had formed several small cancerous nodules in my lungs. Happy New Year! You have Stage IV Cancer! 1/28/20 I am told I have an extremely rare genetic mutation of cancer that is going to make treatment a challenge. There is no rhyme or reason why I got this disease, the scientific term my doctor used was “shitty luck.”

2. Who is “we”?

WE is all of us. Ann, Micah, Lucas, my parents, my brother, my sister, my nieces, my sister-in-laws, my brother-in-laws, my mother-in-law, all of my extended family, all of my friends far and near, bike friends, Scout families, former employees, former bosses, neighbors, doctors, nurses...you name it, that is who “WE” are.

3. How are we going to win?

We will win by not letting this disease dictate how we live our lives. In the words of the late Stuart Scott “You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and the manner in which you live.” I plan to live my life as normal as possible as I fight this disease. My why should be abundantly clear: the loves of my life - Ann, Micah, and Lucas. Everyday I wake up is devoted to having the best day possible with those three people. I could not fight without them. I could not fight without you. I could not fight without “WE”. The manner in which we will live is that each day moving forward is the best day of my life. All of you can be part of it by not letting cancer hold us back as we live the best life we can. We WILL beat this disease because WE have all made the decision that we control our lives, not the cancer.

After visiting five cancer centers over 10 days to start 2020, we have ended up at UNC under the care of Dr. Jared Weiss. I was fast tracked into a dual drug immunotherapy clinical trial that I started this past Tuesday 2/4/20. I will be at UNC every Tuesday moving forward for the next several months. If you are unfamiliar with immunotherapy it is a type of treatment that teaches the body’s immune system to actively search for cancer and kill it. This is different than chemo which is a toxin that kills everything in the body, not just the cancer. There is hope the immuno will work, but no guarantees. We should know in about six to eight weeks. If it doesn’t work, Dr. Weiss already has Plan B, Plan C, and Plan D formulated. Until we find out if the drugs work we are going to keep on living the best life possible. I have very few symptoms at the moment which is allowing me to continue to be active and love each day I spend with my family and friends.

I appreciate all of you that have already reached out and all of you that have already helped. I cannot fight this disease without “WE”!

How can you help? Positive thoughts, prayers, making the commitment to be part of “WE”, banding together as a group to fight, and live each day to its fullest potential!

I give thanks for all of you, and look forward to fighting the good fight with you by my side.

“For whatever gonna come my way, yes i just give thanks, give thanks.

All the struggles and the troubles and the sorrows yeah i just give thanks, give thanks.

Don't worry about tomorrow, your living today, give thanks, you gotta give thanks.

Yeah. its all gonna be okay. we just give thanks, you know we give thanks.”

-Give Thanks, Iya Terra