New year

Sometimes people spend years consumed by their seemingly endless cancer battle, until one day it ends. Sometimes cancer aggressively chews up its victim and spits him out in no time at all. Some people are fortunate enough to "beat" their cancer, but usually not without physical and emotional scars and a life sentence of paranoia. Cancer is a vicious, unpredictable disease that comes in infinite forms.

A dear friend of my sisters, Nick Wilson-Codega, passed away yesterday after a brave battle with rare, advanced esophageal cancer. He shared his diagnosis with the world in November and just two months later, he is gone.

A cure must be found. Help save lives by donating to a LEGIT cancer research foundation, such as Fred Hutch in Seattle (part of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance where I receive treatment and where Nick was undergoing a clinical trial). So many people think they are supporting cancer research by buying random cancer ribbon merchandise... but many companies simply use the disease as a marketing tool (anyone can slap a ribbon on a product to boost sales). Read THIS for more info on making smart donations.

I kicked off 2016 with six doctor appts in the first week. I am so incredibly fortunate that my follow-ups were uneventful. My knee and lung scans were clear. I received another Lupron injection and began my second month on an aromatase inhibitor. Side effects are minimal... mild hot flashes during the day and chills when I sleep. My family is going on a long-awaited vacation in paradise and I certainly won't be taking it for granted. You just never know if/when life will take a wrong turn. Life, like everything else in nature, may be manipulated... but never controlled.

Rest easy, Nick. You were much too young to be taken from this earth.