It has been my goal to write a book on my experiences as a cancer patient and survivor. Now that I'm retiring and on the verge of my last cancer-related medical needs, I want to write that book in 2017. I have an agreement with a new publishing company in Philadelphia and have promised them a manuscript around the middle of next year, so time to get to work on it.
The working title is "Team Mike Versus the Prairie Dogs: My Two Journeys Through Cancer World." The first journey will describe my experiences from pre-diagnosis in late 2008, through treatments in early 2009, to my first NED (no evidence of disease) determination later that year. The second journey will start there and describe the many side effects I've experienced from chemo and radiation, and my current life as a cancer survivor.
Here's where you come in. Many of you have been members of Team Mike and have provided tremendous support for me and Terry along the way. I want your voices to be heard in the book. I am asking you to write anything you wish as a member of Team Mike that could provide readers a "third party"perspective related to my two journeys in Cancer World. What were you thinking/experiencing/feeling from the distance and how did you cope with what you read on the blog and/or saw first hand?
The basis of the book's content will be this blog. I am going to tell my story by using blog entries as much as possible, so if you need to review this Long, Strange Trip use that as a starting point.
I don't want the book to be just about me and Terry--I also want it to be about Team Mike, as part of the total effort to beat cancer. If you want to contribute, reply to this post or send it as an email to tmmetzler@bellsouth.net and I'll make sure it gets into the book. Do let me know if you want to be identified by name in the book or wish to be anonymous.
Remember, this is not meant to be a tribute to me--it's meant to reflect the contributions that Team Mike made to help me and Terry get through this challenge. And, as always, humor is appreciated!
mike
Hello, I am Nels's mother, I am glad to know that my son's art carries a message of optimism to others who, like my daughter, have been victims of cancer. Nels' name is Nelson Orlando Guzman, since his teenage years he has sought to express himself through graffiti. In those days we didn't understand him but he never stopped looking for a way to make us understand that graffity is an art form and not bandalism. Unfortunately, he passed away on May 5, 2020 and now I can remember himby seing these images, images that he always tried to keep by constantly retouching them and that surely by now will have been erased due to the rain and exposure to the air and sun. Thank you for sharing your story with us.
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