Geno's World: 2014

A group of firefighters were handing out candy to local children on their annual Christmas drive through the streets of Rutherford in the New South Wales on Saturday, when they smelled smoke coming from a nearby house.

Cindy Mealer was a great friend. She was so full of joy, humor, kindness....and life in general. I loved hearing from her every day on social media. She always made me smile.

In 2012 I was diagnosed with colon cancer that spread to my liver and eventually to my lung. The battle was tough, but I survived to this point and am currently cancer free. Cindy was diagnosed with a similar cancer a few months after me. I remember when she went into her initial tests. She told me she was so scared. The test results were of course bad. The cancer hit Cindy so very hard. Her poor body went through so much and she passed away just months later on Christmas eve, 2012.

I was gutted. Why did I survive and she didn't? She was an amazing person. One of her last tweets was her asking how my surgery went. Her last tweet was a Retweet of my fundraiser for Carroll Center for the Blind. I think back now and I wish I was able to have been there more for her in her final days. I was in the hospital and fighting my own battle....but I still wish I could have held her hand.

One thing that always makes me smile and feel good is knowing how much her hero, Eliza Dushku lifted her spirits in her final weeks. Eliza made a special phone call to Cindy when she was very very sick. Cindy's joy was amazing!!! I still remember her gushing to me. "G!!! She called ME!!!!". It meant so much to her. She loved Eliza.

Eliza is currently running her yearly fundraiser https://thrivegulu.org/annual/
Cindy donated & supported Eliza's Thrive Gulu charity constantly. If she were alive today, she would be donating & tweeting like crazy. Please make a donation in Cindy's honor. She will smile from above. I know it. I love you Cindy.

Yup. The picture above is a good representation of how I've felt the last couple of weeks. A bit rough. A bit nervous. Ragged....but still a little sexy....right? RIGHT????? (My poor girlfriend Jen has to put up with me walking around with my bed head in public sometimes. God love her!!!)

Anyway, I get scans every three months to check to see if the cancer has returned to my liver or lungs. The last two clean scans have been clean and it's been so wonderful being cancer free......and then the next scheduled scan started getting closer....and closer. I've had a positive attitude through my cancer fight, but I always try to remain realistic also. I know cancer returns to so many people. It was hard to watch from afar as lovely Diem Brown passed away after heroically battling cancer time and time again. Stories like hers always remind me of how fragile life is. And no matter how much a person is a warrior, like Diem was....cancer sometimes wins.

So I braced myself for today's scan results. Ok.....if it is in my liver maybe I'll have to do this. Ok.....if it is in my lungs, maybe I'll have to do this. If I have to do chemo, maybe I'll have to do this. Blah blah blah.

My scans were clean. I'm still cancer free. It's hard to describe what I high I feel getting that news. Amazing relief and wonderful feelings. Until about 2 and a half months from now, when I will start to steel myself again for possible bad news. Life is funny. I love life. I love you guys.

Tom Petty was right. The waiting is the hardest part...... What? He wasn't talking about waiting for scan results? ;)

Links:
Fighting Cancer Isn't Sexy
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16
Part 17
Part 18
Part 19

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