2.0 The Cancer Warrior

1. aka The All-Terrain Warrior “The most common way people give up their power is, by thinking they don’t have any.” Alice Walker After finishing “The Cancer Warrior”, I was sitting at church listening to worship music and “The Cancer Warrior 2.0 came to me on how to prepare yourself for the next level up of the fight against illness. There are times when you have to change your 4 wheel drive into an all-terrain warrior battle cruiser that can handle any medical climate that comes your way. This concept is as much a mental and emotional place as it is physical. Some days are, how do I get through that? As the battle gets tougher you have to decide if you are going to up-grade your mental and emotional game to keep up with the on slot of difficult choices. Bryan L. In process – The Cancer Warrior “Do the difficult repeatedly.” Bryan L.

2. The Conversion Kit “Faith doesn’t always mean that God changes your situation, sometimes it means he changes you.” Steven Furtick Over the last 42 months, Cancer and BPH Disease has taught me that I cannot remain the same mentally and emotionally and get to the next level of pressing through. The title “The Conversion Kit”, implies getting some up-grades. Cancer and BPH Disease have become an endurance race for the long haul and the only way to finish the success line is to let go of the old thinking and get up- graded to strong, tougher, longer lasting will power. The old will power won’t take to through the hard terrain ahead. You can power up in many ways, but my up- grade is Jesus. 1. Become Strong Enough Rocky Balboa is talking with his son in the rain and his son is disappointed because Rocky lost again. "It ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!” Rocky Balboa Many of my cancer surviving friends have endured greater hardship from my point of view and have picked themselves up off the ground. There have been many moments when I did not want to get back up. But if getting through such great hardship requires deciding to get back up. Then now matter what I will spent or invest every ounce of energy to get back up one more time.

3. 2. Become Adaptable Enough Coach John Wooden said, “Adaptability is being able to adjust to any situation at any given time.” The doctors comes in the room and says, since there is no cure for this disease yet, these are your options. Have an implant installed or continue to have surgery every year from here on out. Hmm. Great! I know of others who have had it worse. The deal with cancer or any other life altering disease is, adaptability is essential to surviving your ordeal at least mentally and emotionally. Physically being adaptable doesn’t always work, especially when the body gets pushed beyond its ability to cope with extreme medical measures. 3. Become Loving Enough The Vine Says in 1 Peter 4:8. “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of offenses”. When all else fails like medicines, tests and surgeries, love will fill the heart void like no other. Love and allow yourself to be loved. 4. Become Courageous Enough One more fight, just one more fight and then the next and life becomes an endless parade of tests. My question is, is there any peace in this endless war? As a reigning power in this life, cancer does not care who or what it destroys along the road of history. The same was true in the book of Psalms when King Saul pursued young David (The Goliath Giant Killer). King Saul had only slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands. Because the people made more of David's single victory than all of Saul's, the king went into a rage and became jealous of David. From that moment he plotted to kill him. As with our mortal bodies, negative cancer cells become activated and cancer becomes jealous of the good cells and starts to take what it needs in its plot to kill us. As an all-terrain warrior we have two choices. Allow the cancer to kill us or put up the fight of our life. If we do not muster the courage to do whatever it takes to survive the jealous cancer will win. “Character is who you are after everything has been stripped away.” Bryan L.

4. Disappointment “We don’t always get what we want”. Mick Jagger, Rolling Stones Brief Highlights of Job (put this in the context of what cancer does). Job had seven sons and three daughters. He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. One day in heaven, The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright. Satan said to The Lord, “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

5. One day the Sabeans attacked and made off with Jobs business and put the servants to the sword. Then the fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants. Next the Chaldean’s formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword. Then a storm hit and killed his children. At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” In all this, Job did not take offense by charging God with wrongdoing. A highly successful man ends up with nothing. I can relate to Job’s life after loosing everything. The point is life is very unpredictable at times and bad things happen to good people. We do not always get what we want and there are moments in life where we loose it all. Six Things to Consider “How do you get through when it seems impossible? You don’t stay in your own head.” “What does the next level of pressing through look like?” “Cancer is only going to be a chapter in your life, not the whole story” Joe Wasser “Cancer is messy and scary. You throw everything at it, but don’t forget to throw love at it. It turns out that might be the best weapon of all.” Regina Brett "You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.” Cayla Mills “Today we fight. Tomorrow we fight. The day after, we fight. And if this disease plans on whipping us, it better bring a lunch, ’cause it’s gonna have a long day doing it.” Jim Beaver, Life’s That Way Not everyone gets to outlast cancer. While some of us it has become an endurance race of trying to stay ahead of all the craziness that cancer throws at “want to be survivors”. Meanwhile we stay faithful to the task of living no matter how unlivable that becomes. Bryan L.

6. Love to the End “Doing the difficult requires more character than, most people can even understand.” Bryan L. As my oldest brother was home in his own bed, fighting to live and waiting to die, one thing remained – love. Love can make even a hard death tolerable. His body so swollen from cancer, if he could have talked, he would have said one more time, I love you. Oh how I hate the B_st_rd called cancer and what it does to people. I know form personal experience how it comes to steal, kill and destroy. In the midst of that, love makes the pain bearable. I’d like to say more, but its a sensitive subject when it comes to how my dad solved his cancer problem. What the heck. His cancer went to his brain and in a moment of UN-lucid thinking he decided to shoot himself. When you get the phone call on that one, it stings! How you fit love into that one I don’t know other than loving the ones who are left behind to manage the pain. “Time is Short, Love Well”. Bryan L.

7. Soft Pillows and Butterflies oxymoron /ŏk″sē-môr′ŏn″/ noun “A rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined, as in a deafening silence and a mournful optimist. A figure of speech in which two words with opposing meanings are used together intentionally for effect.” I will use the term “some people” in this oxymoron. Some people are of the mindset that Soft Pillows and Butterflies is how someone passes away from the B_st_rd. Maybe some do and many do not. Many are on Morpheme to ease the pain and appear to go out peacfully. Some fight with every fiber in their body until, the quiet comes and they can no long resist the calling. While still others decide I’m going out my way. Soft Pillows and Butterflies do not speak the truth. They are comforting, but not accurate. So far in my family there has been a suicide, a fight with every fiber and a morpheme exit. Hardship is accurate. Painful is accurate. Grief is accurate. Sorrow is accurate. Those left behind have to walk out these accurate sufferings in their heart alone. “I Hate Cancer For All of its Stealing – Killing – Destroying” Bryan L.

8. Closing Thoughts Over 600,000 people in the United States die of cancer each year. That means more than 600,000 families each year suffer indescribable loss from this horrible disease. When faced with the death of a loved one, many people wonder how they can Find the strength to go on with life. They may feel like every little action requires tremendous effort, and a lifetime of activity and decisions without a loved one may seem overwhelming. “Grief, I’ve learned, is really just love. It’s all the love you want to give but cannot. All of that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in that hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go.” Jamie Anderson Celebrate them while you can. Saying goodbye hurts enough! When you are exhausted and you want to quit, remember you are not alone in this vicious battle. With Respect to all Cancer Warriors, Bryan L. - One of many Cancer Warriors On LinkedIn Support this Cancer Warrior