Big Misunderstanding.....5 Years To Live...What!!??

Ok...Deep Breath!!! This is going to sound really crazy but here it goes....

I have been reading my cancer books and I kept reading this one paragraph over and over and even had Keith read it and called my mother and asked her what she thought. The paragraph spoke of the survival rate for having AML 5 years at a 32.7% or something to that effect. I read it over and over and called my mother. She admitted to reading that same book and said that she then hid the book from me so I wouldn't see it. She took it the same way I did......I have maybe 5 years to live!!! Keith said to call the doctor and ask about that. So I did. I got the doctor on call (Dr. Wallace). He called me back pretty quick and I told him about what I had read and just came out and asked if this was the case...if I had maybe 5 years to live....he sort of got tickled at me and said he was sorry that I didn't call him sooner. He explained this to me and it made me feel much better. He said that if you have a relapse it will usually happen within the first 2 years after you go into remission. He also said that if you go 5 years and don't have a relapse then most likely, you are cured. The percentages are just different for different age groups. He told me that since I was young, I had a better chance of not having a relapse....it just all depends on my genetics and if I am a high or low risk for having a relapse.

So, I now feel better about living more than 5 years. You can just imagine all the thoughts I had going through my mind. I was actually thinking that I didn't have but maybe 5 years of life....not good but I was going to have to re-think some stuff if that was the case. I told my mother that I would go out and just spend a bunch of money and charge up all my credit cards.... HA HA HA .....I couldn't do that if I wanted to because #1 I don't have a bunch of money and #2 I don't have any credit cards to charge up.

All of this has sure made me think about things in my life. Not just because I was thinking I had 5 years but this whole thing that I am going through. Here is the thing...I want my life to mean something....There are 2 important dates in your life...the day you were born and the day you pass away. I was born on March 25, 1970 and only the Lord knows when I will be with Him. You know when you see a tomb stone and the dates are 1970-2007 (this is just an example). The dash in between the two dates are the most important times....I want people to know me for the dash in between my date of birth and the date I pass away....because what you do with your life will make the most impact on those around you. I know that is pretty deep for me to talk about but this has really been on my mind for quite a while and I just had to get that out onto my blog.

Still in His Grip (holding on for dear life)
Sharan