Finding Strength In Simplicity - Our Community's Fight Against Cancer
It has been a while! COVID sucked. Cancer still sucks.
The past few months have been challenging for our community. We’ve lost a friend to colon cancer and another dear friend is currently battling prostate cancer. These experiences have reminded us of how fragile life can be and the importance of taking care of ourselves and each other. That picture on the left is my sister Christy, with my youngest son, Beau. Christy also lost a very tough fight to colon cancer at only 53 years old.
This return to simplicity made us think about how we approach our health. Too often we are caught up in making meetings and the other complications of life, but sometimes, it's about taking the simple, yet crucial, steps that can make all the difference. For example, early detection through regular screenings for cancers like melanoma, colon and prostate cancer can save lives.
Simple Steps That Can Make a Difference:
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Get Screened: If you’re over 45, schedule a colonoscopy. If you’re a man over 50, get your prostate checked. These screenings are straightforward and can catch cancer early when it’s most treatable.
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Know the Signs: Be aware of symptoms like changes in bowel habits, blood in the stool, difficulty urinating, or discomfort in the pelvic area. If something doesn’t feel right, don’t ignore it.
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Take Action: It doesn’t have to be complicated. Making that doctor’s appointment, having that screening—it’s as simple as putting a “1” in the column, like we posted before, but it could save your life.
Going Gadgetless
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by Andy
September 22, 2018
As many of you know, I was sidelined recently because of some lower back issues. And you also know that I am a technology nerd and a data geek. Very rare that you will see me without some kind of device on my wrist to count my steps, mileage, minutes per mile, heart rate, favorite song, etc. That said, not wanting to know that I was going to continually fall short of my daily step goal or going 9 for 9 for the number of hours where I hit my exercise goal, I went gadgetless. My goals over the last couple of weeks were much simpler…get out of bed, go to work, try to help Kristen and the boys as much as I could.
Since I have been feeling pretty good for the past couple of days, today I decided to go for a run. But not wanting to know how far I was off of my average pace, I kept with the theme of going gadgetless. No music either…just the voices in my head. I have to tell you – it was pretty awesome. A nice leisurely jog, mixed in with some walking, just enjoying being back out there.
Don’t get me wrong, I am still a big fan of you can’t manage what you can’t measure. It is hugely important - especially when you are talking about skin cancer screening. According to the American Cancer Institute, melanoma in its earliest stage has a five-year survival rate of 97 percent.
I ran today, so I put a 1 in that column. 1 is greater than 0. At some point, I am sure I will put the bling back on, but for now, I’m going to keep it simple. Keep your annual skin cancer screening simple too…go put a 1 in that column. It could save your life.
Bliss In Turmoil
by Andy
December 1, 2020
What a year. So far.
We entered 2020 with such high hopes and expectations. And we will exit 2020 with the same. From the biggest crash in the stock market to the highest gains ever. If you happen to have exited out of your 401k in February and rebought in March...you would be up 50.3% right now. And climbing. Resiliency. Never Stop Never Stopping. Never Ever Give Up. The future is so bright because the collective *we* make the future.
As far as a great future, Alec and Carie's engagement represent countless other great moments that have occurred during 2020. So amazingly happy for them. I could write countless blogs about our many experiences, but here are some sayings that we live by and probably say a couple of times a week:
- GIVE MORE than you take. Find ways to make the world better, even if it's hard and it sucks at times.
- BREATHE and keep your blood flowing. Bike, run, walk, whatever. Blood flow is life.
- ENJOY the passage of time. Keep it all in perspective.
These are all things I learned from my 11 year old son, 11 years ago.
Thank you, Alec. I love you, kid.
Dad