Live Strong

On Sunday morning, July 11th I picked up Candace from the Upper East Side to go to my sister's engagement party in central Jersey. She really wanted to stop by Nike Town on the way out to pick up a bracelet. A bracelet? Knowing how traffic can be cutting through Midtown, I just wanted to get on the road and pick up whatever this bracelet was another time. And on the road we went.

When the engagement party ended, I started making calls to different sneaker stores around the area to see if they had what I'd later found out was the “Lance Armstrong bracelet”. Footlocker in Jersey City carried them - perfect. When Candace came out of the store with this yellow rubbery bracelet with the words "Live Strong" embroidered on it I look at her like "This is what you've been having us run around for?" "It was a dollar," she explained to me "and all of the proceeds go to Lance Armstrong's cancer foundation." Okay, I could buy into it. So I put it on.

As the immediate days ensued, I was often asked what the bracelet was all about. I'd give the best short answer I knew, "Candace bought it for me." Then, I started to notice more people and athletes with this yellow bracelet around their wrists and I started to have more understanding. No more understanding than when I saw Lance on a T.V. show talking about his cause. When asked about the bracelets and raising millions towards his cancer foundation Lance was amazed by the national support. He said the great thing about it is that someone chooses to put the bracelet on, it's not something forced upon them. They choose to show their support and he was amazed by it. Those words rang strongly through me as I thought 'You're right'. I may have initially thought this rubber yellow bracelet was just something Candace bought me because she wanted one but I slowly began to realize what she and others around the nation have known all along. This bracelet is a symbol of my support of a man who has battled through cancer. The bracelet is a symbol of support to all those who currently or who one day may have to fight cancer and Live Strong! they should.

It's crazy to think after all of that, exactly three months after my sister's engagement party, I would be diagnosed with cancer myself. Classical Hodgkins Lymphoma. Yeah, that's a tough sentence to read, equally as tough to type. It happened quickly. I started to notice a lump building on the left side of my neck above my collar bone. There was also a little something on the right side of my neck but not as big. I figured if it's on both sides, it can't be all that bad. Maybe it's just something swollen. I thought it was something that would eventually go away. Two weeks and five Phish shows later, I looked at myself in the mirror and knew this wasn't going anywhere. A week later I was in the doctor's office having it checked out.

And so on August 26th the adventure began. I've since had two CT scans, lots of blood work, and a biopsy done. The CT scan on my chest and neck revealed the two masses I had already felt but also something unseen hidden beneath my chest. It appears to be about 4 cm in width and extends from below my sternum (base of my neck) to the base of my heart. The CT scan on my stomach and pelvis has come back clear of any masses which is good because it’s only on one side of my diaphragm. The next step is treatment which is still in discussion.

Many of you who I speak with regularly and are reading this have to be wondering so many things including why you are just learning about this for the first time. For one, I wanted to fully understand what I was dealing first before passing the information along to everyone. Secondly, it's not the easiest thing in the world to talk about. But, it is what it is. I have cancer.

I now look down at the bracelet I wear around my left wrist with a whole new meaning to Live Strong. I ask for your support and your prayers. I truly have faith that everything will be all right. Please keep me in your hearts. Thanks for listening.

With Love,

Tom

p.s. I'll be fine :)