"The Wait Is Over" - Sundance & Big Billy TO BE Published by Coping With Cancer Magazine:)

Sundanceh
Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member

Hi Martha

 

I've got news so big that one forum is not big enough to hold it, LOL!

 

So, I thought I would come over here and crash the party and tell you my news....I think I've got a couple of friends over here, right? LOL!

 

And as a 2'fer, while I'm over here, I thought I would tell you that I'm two days away from making it 9-years...now, 24-months into remission, which is the longest continuous streak in the whole fight.  I talked to my onc today and I said, hey almost 9-years and 24-months cancer free.......he said the 9-years means much more....and told me I was one of the ones on a very short list of his patients who had survived this long. 

 

But, hey, I'm a Texan and I'm stubborn:) 

 

Anyway, Anal and Rectal makes us pretty close to Cuzn's, right?  Which makes us family.  And I like to share with family and here is the some of the best news I've ever had to deliver and I wanted all of you to have the opportunity to share it with me.  Lorikat will tell you what a long winded SOB I am, but really this will be easy reading:)

 

I love to come here and check in on you guys, but don't post too much - the world is not ready for me yet - and I don't want to melt the wires too badly over here, LOL!  Here you go and thanks for reading and all of you take care!  (Craig aka Big Billy)

 

 

"The Wait Is Over" - Sundance & Big Billy TO BE Published By Coping With Cancer Magazine

 

Does anyone out there still believe in the legend of Big Billy?

 

No?

 

Well, take a long look in your rear-view mirror at the reflection staring back at you – because, today he became very REAL!

 

The Sundance Channel, in close association with Team Sundance, is proud to announce that The Story of Big Billy has been chosen for publication by Coping Magazine in an upcoming issue. 

 

The proposed dates for release will be anywhere after June 2013 to January 2014.  They release six magazines every year that cover a two month period with each release.   

 

This is an extremely proud day for me – a day that I thought would never come…and how I’ve waited so long and yearned so hard for the day when I would be able to deliver some good news on the cancer front. 

 

For those who have known me from the beginning, or anywhere along the line, I’m sure that your chests are puffed out today as well:)  And that’s because we all knew how much hard work it took to get to this point. 

 

Who is Coping Magazine?

 

About Coping® Magazines and Websites

For 27 years, Coping has been a source of knowledge, hope, and inspiration to people worldwide. When you need positive and helpful information that relates to a specific medical condition, Coping can help:

Coping® with Cancer Website
The Coping with Cancer website is a complete online experience that educates and inspires. It is presented in a warm and friendly, easy-to-use format, and provides information by specific cancer type, general knowledge about living with cancer, and wellness and inspirational topics. The Coping media team is constantly adding relevant articles and trustworthy resources. The website is provided as a public service by Coping® with Cancer magazine and does not accept advertising.

Coping® with Cancer Magazine
Coping with Cancer magazine is written by and for the cancer community with help from our editors. A wide variety of professionals share their knowledge and experience in easy-to-read, relevant articles, and patients, caregivers, and survivors share their strategies for coping. Add in the latest news, FDA updates, resource lists, and exclusive interviews with celebrity cancer survivors, and the result is a publication that provides a unique editorial environment. Coping with Cancer is read by more than a half-million people in the waiting rooms of America’s private practice oncologists, urologists, and cancer treatment centers. It is published six times each year and individual subscriptions are available by mail. A Waiting Room Distribution Program is available for physicians and organizations.

You know, as I’m sitting here, having just pasted this info, I’m beginning to realize that this is really a big deal and just doesn’t just happen.  They get a ton of submissions and I’m all too painfully aware of how easy it is to wind up in the slush pile of an editor’s desk, despite your best intentions.

 

I mean, this is all kinda real now….our audience now has just swelled to 500,000!!!

 

Can any of us really fathom what those kinds of numbers really represent?

 

I’ve talked to hundreds in my time here, but hundreds of thousands – a half a mil?????

 

That’s some heavy enlightenment right there, let me tell you…

 

You guys told me I needed a broader audience – but, this is ridiculous:)

 

I will add that this is a serious trade magazine and they have a sterling reputation to uphold, and so making it here is truly an honor – to be able to represent every one of you – and the entire cancer community at large, no matter what our cancer is.

 

Big Billy crosses all boundaries with his ideology – and he transcends all the lines of cancer, as his message is universal to all of those suffering with the affliction we refer to as Cancer.

 

But, he will always be “your” Semi;Colon:)

 

When he was born, his full name was Big Billy BadA$$....he was known as the guy… Who $hit Lightning – and Crapped Thunder!

 

I’ve had to soften him somewhat to make him more readily acceptable to the general public…..and Coping softened him some more, LOL!  (More on that later on…)

 

I had a friend of mine (we no longer talk) and when I told him about Big Billy and what I planned to do with him, he scoffed and laughed in my face and told me it was stupid. If he were here, I’d quote Toby Keith and say…”How Do You Like Me Now?”

 

<span style="font-family: Times New Ro

Comments

  • Lorikat
    Lorikat Member Posts: 681 Member
    Oh man!  I am SO proud of

    Oh man!  I am SO proud of that editor for having the good sense to publish your writings!!  And I am sooo proud of you for not giving up!   

     

    I was just thinking of you the other day when I was closing on the sale of my Moms house.....  My husband and I had only one day to "unstage" and remove the furniture so the buyer could take possesion.  I remembered how hard you and your wife worked on your Dad's house......AND GOT ON CRAIGSLIST AND HIRED SOMEONE TO MOVE THE FURNITURE FOR US!    LOL!  You never know how your experiences are going to help someone else.  Thank you.

    Again..  So happy for you!  Many, many writers go a lifetime without being acknowledged.  Good job...

  • eihtak
    eihtak Member Posts: 1,473 Member
    Sundanceh.......

    Fabulous!!!! Once again persistence pays off, thank you and congratulations!

  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    Lorikat said:

    Oh man!  I am SO proud of

    Oh man!  I am SO proud of that editor for having the good sense to publish your writings!!  And I am sooo proud of you for not giving up!   

     

    I was just thinking of you the other day when I was closing on the sale of my Moms house.....  My husband and I had only one day to "unstage" and remove the furniture so the buyer could take possesion.  I remembered how hard you and your wife worked on your Dad's house......AND GOT ON CRAIGSLIST AND HIRED SOMEONE TO MOVE THE FURNITURE FOR US!    LOL!  You never know how your experiences are going to help someone else.  Thank you.

    Again..  So happy for you!  Many, many writers go a lifetime without being acknowledged.  Good job...

    Thank you, Lori:)
    Next time

    Thank you, Lori:)

    Next time you're down at MDA, see if they carry the Coping magazine in their waiting rooms.....readership is 500,000 and is distributed in oncologists waiting rooms etc.

    Tell 'em to order a subscription:)

    I've tried so many times, Lori and had the door slammed unceremoniously in my face....after awhile, you sorta get tired of sticking your finger into an electrical socket - it hurts, you know?

    I was getting pretty discouraged - everybody would tell me something was there - and that just made it worse. 

    Just like with cancer when we say WHY ME and then WHY NOT ME?

    Well, same thing.....why not me? 

    W2GO on getting some help with the estate - it can all get too be too much for a couple to handle on their own.  I'm glad that my story helped you there.  Just like you say, you never know who you're going to save from drowning out there:)

    Thank you so much for all your support!!

    -Craig

  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    eihtak said:

    Sundanceh.......

    Fabulous!!!! Once again persistence pays off, thank you and congratulations!

    Hi Eihtak

    I never know when to say when....

    Cool

  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    "The Story of the Man They Call Big Billy" ©

    The magazine really cut down the story I sent them and had to edit quite abit out in order for the story to fit their space format.  As I said, some concessions had to be made in order for them to agree to publish my article.

    Because, I know so many of you here, I thought I would share the ORIGINAL story with you guys.  I thought you might enjoy getting the full impact. 

    Now, this was written when I was at the lowest point of my entire 9-year cancer battle....I was ready to quit fighting and let it go, because all of the years of accumulated fighting had finally caught up with me and I was about out of gas.

    And this is where this part of my story picks up...

    It is copyrighted, so please don't distribute or copy the material....

                                 “The Story of the Man They Call Big Billy” ©

                                                                           By Craig Harrison

     

     

    It was late winter of 2010 and the nights were long and dark.  I had tied one on at the Infusion Center Lounge that day with yet another Folfiri Bender – which was one of the most popular chemo cocktails that they serve at the local waterin’ hole I imbibed at. 

     

    I was sicker than the proverbial dog and all hopped on The Dex, and the 5fu pump was hanging off the headboard whirring and clicking and systematically filling me full of poison with each audible turn of that annoying sound the motor makes each time it cycles and delivers you the juice. 

     

    I laid there in bed motionless hour after hour, listening to the wall clock mock me from the other side of the house with its relentless chiming that marked each passage of time – a haunting melody that became the subtle and audible reminder of yet another sleepless sixty-minute span of time that I would never get back. 

     

    It must have been somewhere between 3am and 4am in the early morning – that thin layer of time that separates the night from the dawn – a time whether it is neither night nor day – a time where things can come unhinged either physically, mentally, or emotionally for those cancer combat infantry personnel who find themselves marching on in the cancer battlefields of our minds. 

     

    It is affectionately known as The Witching Hour for so many a cancer patient, who find themselves in the throes of treatment – it’s a very special time when we find ourselves totally alone with nothing but our thoughts to keep us company. 

     

    It can be a time of deep despair and haunted visions – or it can be a time of enlightenment where certain truths finally align themselves in the perfect order, thus providing you the clarity and understanding of that, which you’ve been searching for those many long, soul searching nights.

     

    It can be a time when we’re ready to put a stamp on it and mail it in with talk about quitting – or it can be a time where we pick ourselves back up and vow to keep moving forward. 

     

    The beauty of this hour of time is that it’s all ours.  The Witching Hour is where the seeds of Personal Growth are planted that will one day come to fruition and be harvested. 

     

    And, it’s from this process that we grow from within from what we allow ourselves to feel and experience during this window of opportunity each evening when the house grows dark and silent and we are left with only our thoughts for company. 

     

    Each night, we never know what is going to run through our heads and what we will feel and learn when we lay our heads down on the pillow each night.  That’s the beautiful aspect of this part of the journey.  There are no rules and we’re free to live out whatever random thoughts and feelings that comes into our heads. 

     

    It is many things to many people – but, in its simplest form, it is a time of Reflection.   It is a special time that allows us the permission to feel, think and explore the intricacies of the disease all that comes with it. 

     

    This is our unique opportunity to confront the demons that are calling out to us.  It’s a time to ask questions – and it’s also a time where we may find some answers to some of the mystery that is perplexing us. 

     

    One particular night for me before the early dawn, there was a stillness and a calmness in the air that was so eerily quiet, that I could hear my thoughts rattling around in my skull, like a ping-pong game gone mad on steroids. 

     

    I was tired – I felt defeated – and at that moment in time, I had finally lost my way.  And in the process of doing so, I also discovered that I had lost my inspiration as well.  By the time I realized what had happened, it was already too late. 

     

    By then, Hope had already packed a suitcase and was headed out the door to join the others.  It was a complete jail break and left me laying there feeling emotionally bankrupt and destitute.   

     

    I was nearly a beaten man; swaying back and forth and grasping at those imaginary ropes in the fight ring that I thought were holding me upright – sort of like the image of a latter-day Rocky Balboa, just trying to go the distance in a title-fight against such a formidable adversary such as cancer. 

     

    I lay there contemplating why I was fighting so hard and for what anymore.  I was trying to justify if feeling this sick every day was worth the price to be paid anymore.  What was the point anymore if this was all there was ever going to be?

     

    Then, all of a sudden, I felt this silent lucidity come into play, where I began to question whether or not that I had the toughness or the right stuff anymore to do what it takes to get back to the final round of a title-defense that I had fought and won twice prior in my fight against cancer.  

     

    I thought about the line that Apollo Creed used in the movie Rocky…”Ain’t gonna’ be no re-match…”

     

    My thoughts drifted to thinking that all great fighters have to lay down the gloves someday and ‘retire.’  Maybe it was time for Cancer to retire me.  Over and over I could hear the words of boxer, Roberto Duran…”No mas.”

     

    For a moment or two, I seriously contemplated taking my hands off the wheel…

     

    And then ‘he’ came to me.  The idea of Big Billy and the ideology of what he stood for and represented to me – and what he might represent for other cancer fighters, who found themselves at a juncture in their own fights, where they felt their strength waning and their own mental resolve beginning to weaken. 

     

    So, I created this persona of a character that would carry the markings of one tough cancer fighting dude – a guy that from the looks of him would be the antithesis of what I looked like, but on the inside he still carried the same ideals and values that I shared.

     

    It developed into this symbiotic relationship, where each one of us could stand on his own merit, independent of one another.  In combination, we could become this unstoppable force in the cancer universe and transform ourselves into the Dynamic Duo. 

     

    Just like that, the idea for Team Sundance was formed. 

     

    Who is Big Billy?

     

    Simply stated, he’s the muscle behind my hustle…

     

    Big Billy became my alter-ego in the cancer world.  He was born a figment of my fertile imagination on a cold, winter night in 2010 and crystallized himself into the embodiment of an image that I wanted to represent.  More importantly, he became what I wanted to feel like once more.

     

    And that was one of the baddest cancer fighters there ever was – one of the best to ever play the game. 

     

    I think that what I was able to do was harness this image of our inner fighting nature that we all carry with us into our battles and then was able to manifest that persona into something that was tangible and readily identifiable that could represent us all. 

     

    In essence, Big Billy represents “The Fighting Side of Us…”

     

    Big Billy has always been that intangible element that we can feel – but never see.

     

    Until now…

     

    Big Billy does live – he lives in me – and he lives in you too! 

     

    Keep fighting, you can do it!

                   

    -end

  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    Sundanceh said:

    Thank you, Lori:)
    Next time

    Thank you, Lori:)

    Next time you're down at MDA, see if they carry the Coping magazine in their waiting rooms.....readership is 500,000 and is distributed in oncologists waiting rooms etc.

    Tell 'em to order a subscription:)

    I've tried so many times, Lori and had the door slammed unceremoniously in my face....after awhile, you sorta get tired of sticking your finger into an electrical socket - it hurts, you know?

    I was getting pretty discouraged - everybody would tell me something was there - and that just made it worse. 

    Just like with cancer when we say WHY ME and then WHY NOT ME?

    Well, same thing.....why not me? 

    W2GO on getting some help with the estate - it can all get too be too much for a couple to handle on their own.  I'm glad that my story helped you there.  Just like you say, you never know who you're going to save from drowning out there:)

    Thank you so much for all your support!!

    -Craig

    Craig--

    Wow, I am speechless--well, almost (according to my husband, I've never been speechless in my life!).  I am so damn proud of you right now, I could bust!  You just don't quit, do you?  And I mean that only in the very best way!  How great it is to see that your efforts and persistence have finally paid off!  I am so very happy for you!  You are a wise man with much to say and I'm glad you are getting a chance to tell the world.  How fortunate all of us here are to have had the benefit of your knowledge and wisdom for so long.  Makes me feel kind of selfish!  :)  Now, spread your wings and fly!  The world may not be ready for you yet, but just like a survivor after going through treatment, the world will adjust!  Congratulations, my friend, job well done!

    Hugs and Much Admiration--

    Martha   

  • lizdeli
    lizdeli Member Posts: 569 Member
    Sundanceh said:

    "The Story of the Man They Call Big Billy" ©

    The magazine really cut down the story I sent them and had to edit quite abit out in order for the story to fit their space format.  As I said, some concessions had to be made in order for them to agree to publish my article.

    Because, I know so many of you here, I thought I would share the ORIGINAL story with you guys.  I thought you might enjoy getting the full impact. 

    Now, this was written when I was at the lowest point of my entire 9-year cancer battle....I was ready to quit fighting and let it go, because all of the years of accumulated fighting had finally caught up with me and I was about out of gas.

    And this is where this part of my story picks up...

    It is copyrighted, so please don't distribute or copy the material....

                                 “The Story of the Man They Call Big Billy” ©

                                                                           By Craig Harrison

     

     

    It was late winter of 2010 and the nights were long and dark.  I had tied one on at the Infusion Center Lounge that day with yet another Folfiri Bender – which was one of the most popular chemo cocktails that they serve at the local waterin’ hole I imbibed at. 

     

    I was sicker than the proverbial dog and all hopped on The Dex, and the 5fu pump was hanging off the headboard whirring and clicking and systematically filling me full of poison with each audible turn of that annoying sound the motor makes each time it cycles and delivers you the juice. 

     

    I laid there in bed motionless hour after hour, listening to the wall clock mock me from the other side of the house with its relentless chiming that marked each passage of time – a haunting melody that became the subtle and audible reminder of yet another sleepless sixty-minute span of time that I would never get back. 

     

    It must have been somewhere between 3am and 4am in the early morning – that thin layer of time that separates the night from the dawn – a time whether it is neither night nor day – a time where things can come unhinged either physically, mentally, or emotionally for those cancer combat infantry personnel who find themselves marching on in the cancer battlefields of our minds. 

     

    It is affectionately known as The Witching Hour for so many a cancer patient, who find themselves in the throes of treatment – it’s a very special time when we find ourselves totally alone with nothing but our thoughts to keep us company. 

     

    It can be a time of deep despair and haunted visions – or it can be a time of enlightenment where certain truths finally align themselves in the perfect order, thus providing you the clarity and understanding of that, which you’ve been searching for those many long, soul searching nights.

     

    It can be a time when we’re ready to put a stamp on it and mail it in with talk about quitting – or it can be a time where we pick ourselves back up and vow to keep moving forward. 

     

    The beauty of this hour of time is that it’s all ours.  The Witching Hour is where the seeds of Personal Growth are planted that will one day come to fruition and be harvested. 

     

    And, it’s from this process that we grow from within from what we allow ourselves to feel and experience during this window of opportunity each evening when the house grows dark and silent and we are left with only our thoughts for company. 

     

    Each night, we never know what is going to run through our heads and what we will feel and learn when we lay our heads down on the pillow each night.  That’s the beautiful aspect of this part of the journey.  There are no rules and we’re free to live out whatever random thoughts and feelings that comes into our heads. 

     

    It is many things to many people – but, in its simplest form, it is a time of Reflection.   It is a special time that allows us the permission to feel, think and explore the intricacies of the disease all that comes with it. 

     

    This is our unique opportunity to confront the demons that are calling out to us.  It’s a time to ask questions – and it’s also a time where we may find some answers to some of the mystery that is perplexing us. 

     

    One particular night for me before the early dawn, there was a stillness and a calmness in the air that was so eerily quiet, that I could hear my thoughts rattling around in my skull, like a ping-pong game gone mad on steroids. 

     

    I was tired – I felt defeated – and at that moment in time, I had finally lost my way.  And in the process of doing so, I also discovered that I had lost my inspiration as well.  By the time I realized what had happened, it was already too late. 

     

    By then, Hope had already packed a suitcase and was headed out the door to join the others.  It was a complete jail break and left me laying there feeling emotionally bankrupt and destitute.   

     

    I was nearly a beaten man; swaying back and forth and grasping at those imaginary ropes in the fight ring that I thought were holding me upright – sort of like the image of a latter-day Rocky Balboa, just trying to go the distance in a title-fight against such a formidable adversary such as cancer. 

     

    I lay there contemplating why I was fighting so hard and for what anymore.  I was trying to justify if feeling this sick every day was worth the price to be paid anymore.  What was the point anymore if this was all there was ever going to be?

     

    Then, all of a sudden, I felt this silent lucidity come into play, where I began to question whether or not that I had the toughness or the right stuff anymore to do what it takes to get back to the final round of a title-defense that I had fought and won twice prior in my fight against cancer.  

     

    I thought about the line that Apollo Creed used in the movie Rocky…”Ain’t gonna’ be no re-match…”

     

    My thoughts drifted to thinking that all great fighters have to lay down the gloves someday and ‘retire.’  Maybe it was time for Cancer to retire me.  Over and over I could hear the words of boxer, Roberto Duran…”No mas.”

     

    For a moment or two, I seriously contemplated taking my hands off the wheel…

     

    And then ‘he’ came to me.  The idea of Big Billy and the ideology of what he stood for and represented to me – and what he might represent for other cancer fighters, who found themselves at a juncture in their own fights, where they felt their strength waning and their own mental resolve beginning to weaken. 

     

    So, I created this persona of a character that would carry the markings of one tough cancer fighting dude – a guy that from the looks of him would be the antithesis of what I looked like, but on the inside he still carried the same ideals and values that I shared.

     

    It developed into this symbiotic relationship, where each one of us could stand on his own merit, independent of one another.  In combination, we could become this unstoppable force in the cancer universe and transform ourselves into the Dynamic Duo. 

     

    Just like that, the idea for Team Sundance was formed. 

     

    Who is Big Billy?

     

    Simply stated, he’s the muscle behind my hustle…

     

    Big Billy became my alter-ego in the cancer world.  He was born a figment of my fertile imagination on a cold, winter night in 2010 and crystallized himself into the embodiment of an image that I wanted to represent.  More importantly, he became what I wanted to feel like once more.

     

    And that was one of the baddest cancer fighters there ever was – one of the best to ever play the game. 

     

    I think that what I was able to do was harness this image of our inner fighting nature that we all carry with us into our battles and then was able to manifest that persona into something that was tangible and readily identifiable that could represent us all. 

     

    In essence, Big Billy represents “The Fighting Side of Us…”

     

    Big Billy has always been that intangible element that we can feel – but never see.

     

    Until now…

     

    Big Billy does live – he lives in me – and he lives in you too! 

     

    Keep fighting, you can do it!

                   

    -end

    Craig

    Craig,

    I'm so proud of you and so happy for you!  I followed your posts for quite a while now and your preservance through everything has been incredibly inspiring.  Congratulations on getting published and on your 9 years but most all for being the man that you are!

    Hugs,

    Liz

  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    mp327 said:

    Craig--

    Wow, I am speechless--well, almost (according to my husband, I've never been speechless in my life!).  I am so damn proud of you right now, I could bust!  You just don't quit, do you?  And I mean that only in the very best way!  How great it is to see that your efforts and persistence have finally paid off!  I am so very happy for you!  You are a wise man with much to say and I'm glad you are getting a chance to tell the world.  How fortunate all of us here are to have had the benefit of your knowledge and wisdom for so long.  Makes me feel kind of selfish!  :)  Now, spread your wings and fly!  The world may not be ready for you yet, but just like a survivor after going through treatment, the world will adjust!  Congratulations, my friend, job well done!

    Hugs and Much Admiration--

    Martha   

    Thank You, Martha!

    You know, no one has ever asked me for a refund!

    LOL! LOL! LOL!

    I feel your enthusiasm and your sincerity overflowing in this post and thank you so much for all of your kind words. I truly appreciate what you and everyone has said on this post:)

    I'll let you know when I hear of a date, for anyone here that might like to check it out.  It will be the abbreviated version of the story, but through that, we will be able to the potential to reach about half a million folks who read the magazine.  Our victory comes by them reading it and finding something in there that helps them hang on - when their resolve begins to wane.

    It's not easy getting your work recognized by any publishing outfit - it is a tough industry to break into up and down the line.  So, I'm just happy that someone out there took a chance on me and I hope that one day there will be more to come from it.

    I just wanted to add that I've followed you and everyone's stories over here...

    You do a tremendous job in the role that you play over here.  It is much the same as I've tried to do on my side of the world, so I recognize your sincerity and your effort to help others who are afflicted. 

    Personal Growth is the other real story of Cancer...

    Turning your internal angst outwards, so that it can be of benefit to others...

    So, great job on all that you do here for everyone!

    Big Hugs!

    -Craig

  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    lizdeli said:

    Craig

    Craig,

    I'm so proud of you and so happy for you!  I followed your posts for quite a while now and your preservance through everything has been incredibly inspiring.  Congratulations on getting published and on your 9 years but most all for being the man that you are!

    Hugs,

    Liz

    Hi Liz:)

    I very much wanted you to know about this - you've always been so kind and supportive!

    You're making me blush Embarassed

    You and me go back to the Class of '09 - which is always a special class for anyway - for a lot of reasons....

    It's hard to believe that's it been 4-years!  I blew in June and you joined in July of that year.....wow!

    I've lost the majority of my friends from that era - and so it makes me feel good to still see you here and doing well.  I'm finally trying to get well.....two years currently in remission out of the whole time....longest clear streak and counting....hope it can continue:)

    I'm just so glad that I have folks that I can share this with in the cancer community - it's what makes it truly meaningful!

    Love/Craig

  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    Sundanceh said:

    Thank You, Martha!

    You know, no one has ever asked me for a refund!

    LOL! LOL! LOL!

    I feel your enthusiasm and your sincerity overflowing in this post and thank you so much for all of your kind words. I truly appreciate what you and everyone has said on this post:)

    I'll let you know when I hear of a date, for anyone here that might like to check it out.  It will be the abbreviated version of the story, but through that, we will be able to the potential to reach about half a million folks who read the magazine.  Our victory comes by them reading it and finding something in there that helps them hang on - when their resolve begins to wane.

    It's not easy getting your work recognized by any publishing outfit - it is a tough industry to break into up and down the line.  So, I'm just happy that someone out there took a chance on me and I hope that one day there will be more to come from it.

    I just wanted to add that I've followed you and everyone's stories over here...

    You do a tremendous job in the role that you play over here.  It is much the same as I've tried to do on my side of the world, so I recognize your sincerity and your effort to help others who are afflicted. 

    Personal Growth is the other real story of Cancer...

    Turning your internal angst outwards, so that it can be of benefit to others...

    So, great job on all that you do here for everyone!

    Big Hugs!

    -Craig

    Craig

    Your kind words have made my day!  Thank you very much!  I can't wait to see you in print, so let us know when we'll get a look.  You are right--everybody thinks they can write and the weeding out process used by publishers can be as brutal as getting your butt radiated!  They really give no one any mercy!  I'm very happy that the day they checked out your story, they were alert to your talents! 

    I went through treatment pretty much alone, so I have tried to make sure that happens to no one else by participating on 3 support sites.  I suppose one of these days it will be time to become less active.  Some days I think I've said all there is to say.  But then I think of Joanne and I know how hard she worked to get a group started for anal cancer, so I do not want to see this group become silent.  We all really do need to pay it forward in some kind of way.

    I'll look forward to hearing your print date--just like a kid counting down the days until December 25th!  Take care my friend and hugs right back atcha! 

  • sephie
    sephie Member Posts: 650 Member
    wow congrats

    craig ,,,, getting published is such a great accomplishment.... i will look around MDA and see if they carry Coping Mag.... they also have a huge library and i bet they have it>> let us know which month it makes it ......    sephie