“Eight is Great” – A Reflective Commentary + Scan Results Are In

245

Comments

  • Jaylo969
    Jaylo969 Member Posts: 824 Member
    Eight is GREAT!
    Thumbs up my friend....Yay, Yay, happy, happy. Cheers Craig to you & Kim. And now...Onward & Upward.

    Congratulations!

    -Pat
  • Lorikat
    Lorikat Member Posts: 681 Member
    Oh, you sound so good! We
    Oh, you sound so good! We ALL need to take everyday and really live.... I have been afraid of so much for so long. THAT is why I am doing so many things i've never tried before... And lovin' them! God Bless you and your Kim. Lorie
  • steveandnat
    steveandnat Member Posts: 886
    you're something special
    So happy everything is clear...take advantage of every minute which I'm sure you will get every second of life you can. I am just finishing three years but never been clear. I cant imagine how you must feel. Why some of us survive longer than others is really a mystery. Its a fight but so hard. Pray you stay clear forever. Jeff
  • steved
    steved Member Posts: 834 Member
    From one 8 yearer to another
    I hit 8 years back in February and have a very different story with many similarities!? I too have journeied this with moderation as my marker for all things and it too seems to work for me. In truth though I have also learnt not to count time passed too much as it has become less relevant than focusing on the here and now. It also makes me angry that before long a quarter of my life will have been spent under the shadow of cancer.

    This disease can teach us a lot and you lay the lessons out in your usual eloquent style- thank you for the message.

    steve
  • pete43lost_at_sea
    pete43lost_at_sea Member Posts: 3,900 Member
    just fantastic about your scans being clear.
    hi craig,

    enjoy the high from the great results.
    i hope you are clear forever mate.

    hugs,
    pete
  • dasspears
    dasspears Member Posts: 227
    Loved reading every word!
    Hooray for you and big hugs from another Dallasite!
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    janie1 said:

    my take????
    Dont freaking mess with Sundanceh.
    (Boy, did you do a number on church lady....too good).
    Enjoy Craig......you & Kim deserve some quality time.

    LOL, Janie:)
    "Dont freaking mess with Sundanceh."

    One of my favorite movie lines comes from Al Pacino in Scarface circa 1983...

    As Tony Montana, he stated, "When you f with me - you're f'in with the best."

    That pretty much sums it up, huh?

    Thanks, J...in the time that you have known me, I've risen from the dark days of sitting in the Walmart parking lot by myself - to everything that you have seen since.

    Never kick the sleeping Lion:)

    LOL!

    -Craig
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member

    Hip hip hooray!!!
    Congratulations Craig, that is some awesome news. You are one tough sombich... I could not be happier for you. You've acomplished alot this last year and you need (deserve)a vacation. But wait, now that you might be around longer than you thought, this is the perfect reason to start exercising and eating right to get healthy and avoid the typical health pitfalls that (normal) forty and fifty year olds fall into. You would hate to put cancer behind you just to fight diabetes or heart disease.... Believe it or not, there are more health scares out there besides cancer....
    Take care, CJ

    SOH
    Hey CJ...forgot to mention....no diabetes, glucose is good....blood pressure, SPO2 level, and heartbeats all good:)

    But, I do get what you are saying...last six-months have not been ours...

    Take care, man!

    -Craig
    "Sombich"
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    smokeyjoe said:

    Craig....:) :):) I HAVE
    Craig....:) :):) I HAVE THE BIGGEST SMILE ON MY FACE RIGHT NOW :):):) Crack that grin now buddy and may it keep getting bigger for you!!!!

    "L" :)
    I not only see that smile - it's so big I can feel it - and that's all the way down here in Texas - and you know everything is bigger in Texas...

    With a smile like that...you'd fit in here:)

    Thank you!

    -Craig
  • Kenny H.
    Kenny H. Member Posts: 502 Member
    dasspears said:

    Loved reading every word!
    Hooray for you and big hugs from another Dallasite!

    Congrats bud.
    8 yrs is a

    Congrats bud.
    8 yrs is a long time in the fight. if you can do it we all can!
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    pepebcn said:

    Craig&Kim I'm so happy for you and for all of us!
    That brings hope to this board! Thank you Craig !
    Hugs Mate!

    Pepe
    I agree, Pepe - I think it does for all of us, as well.

    Continued good luck with your fight.

    -Craig
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    jjaj133 said:

    OMG I AM SO HAPPY for
    OMG I AM SO HAPPY for YOU!!!!
    I have to write more later, I must go do a happy dance!!!
    Love you my friend,
    Judy

    Hi Judy
    "I feel you."

    :)

    Love/Craig
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    tommycat said:

    Great news
    That is GREAT news. Thanks for sharing!!!!

    Thank you, T:)
    It's been the wildest thing ever...

    Since, I've never gone past the one-year mark clear, the next six-month test should really be something if all goes well...

    I've got a full summer cleaning up my dad's house and closing out his estate...so this reprieve could not have come at a better time...

    Take care!

    -Craig
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    Kenny H. said:

    Congrats bud.
    8 yrs is a

    Congrats bud.
    8 yrs is a long time in the fight. if you can do it we all can!

    KH
    Thanks, Kenny

    It's been another whole lifetime alright...you keep up the good work and you won't have to fight as long as me:)

    That's my wish for you....there's no ribbons or medals for fighting this long...just the self confidence that you can kick **** - even late in the game:)

    "Get Well Soon."

    -Craig
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    dasspears said:

    Loved reading every word!
    Hooray for you and big hugs from another Dallasite!

    "D from Big D"
    Thank you, D!

    Big hug coming back - if your arms can reach all the way around me:)

    LOL!

    -Craig
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member

    just fantastic about your scans being clear.
    hi craig,

    enjoy the high from the great results.
    i hope you are clear forever mate.

    hugs,
    pete

    Thanks, Pete
    As I like to say....

    "Time Will Tell..."

    I hope so too and in six-more months, we'll take another look at it...

    -Craig
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    steved said:

    From one 8 yearer to another
    I hit 8 years back in February and have a very different story with many similarities!? I too have journeied this with moderation as my marker for all things and it too seems to work for me. In truth though I have also learnt not to count time passed too much as it has become less relevant than focusing on the here and now. It also makes me angry that before long a quarter of my life will have been spent under the shadow of cancer.

    This disease can teach us a lot and you lay the lessons out in your usual eloquent style- thank you for the message.

    steve

    Steve
    Good to hear from you, bud.

    Speaking of lessons...you taught me a very valuable one about a year ago, I believe. You had just recurred after 7-years of being clear.

    That post spoke to me in volumes that day - because what it told me, and the message it should have told everyone is...even when you go clear for many years and it looks cancer is a thing of the past for you...it can come back.....long after the supposed 5-year marker where the medical community proclaims us as cured.

    That post made my blood run cold...because through you, I could see myself...if I were fortunate enough to make it that far out clear...

    You can't put a price on that kind of lesson...it's the one that nobody wants to hear about...it's the one that we don't want to acknowledge...but it's the one that we all need to recognize and understand.

    So, thank you for that lesson my friend.

    It is strange to still be standing when so many of us have passed on...cancer has taken a great deal of our lives...and the longer that we stay in its shadows, I fear it will be harder to break those ties that bind.

    But, we'll see...

    I'm suddenly reminded of Godfather III, where Al Pacino says..."

    "Just when I thought I was out...they pull me back in."

    Your cancer story reminds me of that quote...I'll never forget this lesson.

    Thanks, Steve

    -Craig
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member

    you're something special
    So happy everything is clear...take advantage of every minute which I'm sure you will get every second of life you can. I am just finishing three years but never been clear. I cant imagine how you must feel. Why some of us survive longer than others is really a mystery. Its a fight but so hard. Pray you stay clear forever. Jeff

    Thanks, Jeff
    Getting clear vs Not Getting Clear

    That's a tough one right there...it's never as easy as one thinks...I'm talking more of the mental than the physical right now.

    Getting clear and recurring - and then getting clear and recurring - and then getting clear and recurring...

    That can do some psychological damage to you right there...the more you recur, the more you understand how really hard it is...you begin to see what your life will really be.....recur-fight-recur-repeat.

    I have tasted it - but never bathed in it...it's like this big tease that says "you can have it"....and then with the other hand it can take away so quickly.

    I hope that you receive your time in a clear state...your fight points how hard it is to reach out and fight and not be able to attain (yet).

    I remain hopeful that something will turn for you to allow you to get there...the road is long no matter which path that we end up on.

    It is hard...I would never dreamed making it 8-years when I first got started. You're in a tough spot right now, but keep it going...will be pulling for your success.

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

    Oh, you sound so good! We
    Oh, you sound so good! We ALL need to take everyday and really live.... I have been afraid of so much for so long. THAT is why I am doing so many things i've never tried before... And lovin' them! God Bless you and your Kim. Lorie

    Hiya, Lorie
    I've read your exploits:)

    I'm convinced I could never catch up to you now...hope all continues to go well for you...loved your white water experience...must have been a real ride!

    -Craig
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    Jaylo969 said:

    Eight is GREAT!
    Thumbs up my friend....Yay, Yay, happy, happy. Cheers Craig to you & Kim. And now...Onward & Upward.

    Congratulations!

    -Pat

    Hi Pat
    Thank you, Pat....nice to see you.

    With the way this year has gone for me, it was nice to be on the receiving end of something positive...I hope it will last for awhile...at least long enough to get my dad's affairs settled.

    This is a nice reprieve and I'm thankful for it, so I can continue to hammer away on dad's business...and in my spare time, try and work on me and Kim's:)

    -Craig