Survivor Battles Lung Cancer and Lives to See More Birthdays
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This week Asha Dornfest from parenting blog Parent Hacks writes about her dear friend Mike Wooldridge’s battle with cancer. Asha and Mike had led parallel lives until one day their paths diverged: at the age of 34 Mike was diagnosed with Stage 3 non-small cell lung cancer. After being told that his chance of survival was 10-15%, Mike conquered the disease and went on to run a marathon, climb Mt. Whitney, and above all cherish his time with his wife Linda and son Griffin.
Mike has fought to achieve more of something we all care about — time. His victory over cancer means more time with the people he loves and more time to celebrate the major milesones in their lives. And that’s what the American Cancer Society’s More Birthdays movement is all about. Read excerpts from the story below:
Breathing New Life: Mike Wooldridge’s Lung Cancer Triumph
Mike Wooldridge and I have always led parallel lives.
He and I were friends in middle- and high school. We went to college at UC Berkeley together, then onto the Web, then to book writing and teaching, and finally plunging into parenthood side-by-side. Our sons were born weeks apart — I still have the blurry picture of our two wrinkly newborns sleeping in their adjacent car seats.
And yet, throughout our almost 30-year friendship (which is saying a lot given that I’m 40), we’re as different as two people can be. In school, while I was hunched over my books, he was riding his skateboard. While I backpacked through Europe, he camped out at Burning Man. I wrote an early book about Web publishing, and he wrote a zine and printed weiner dog posters. I started a parenting blog, he started Pets in Uniform.
… But, at one crucial point, our paths diverged. While I was heads-down in the joyful and confusing details of family life, Mike was diagnosed with cancer.
What started as a minor cough ended in an oncologist’s office with the news that Mike had a fist-sized tumor growing in his right lung. He had Stage 3 non-small cell lung cancer, and, because the size of the tumor made it inoperable, his chance of survival was 10-15%. Mike was 34.
Against those sobering odds, Mike plunged headlong into his treatment. He learned everything he could about the disease, he relied on the support of his incredible wife, family, workplace and network of friends, and — most importantly — he kept his eye trained on his recovery. Doctors were flabbergasted when chemotherapy shrunk Mike’s tumor to an operable size. They removed the tumor and a significant portion of his lung. A year and a half after his diagnosis, Mike ran the Vancouver International Marathon.
Mike says that cancer has made possible a vitality and an immediacy that he never knew existed. Without cancer, he may have never had the motivation or courage — or even the inclination — to run a marathon, or climb Mt. Whitney, or hike to Machu Picchu. More importantly, the time he spends with his wife, Linda, and his son, Griffin, is a gift Mike never takes for granted.
Mike’s beaten cancer in that he’s alive today. But he might say it differently: he’s alive today because of cancer.
Thanks to Asha for sharing this touching story. To help create a world where cancer never steals another year of anyone’s life, visit morebirthdays.com.
This weekend, my 12-year old daughter and her friends are hosting a surprise birthday sleepover for one of their friends whose mother lost her very short battle with lung cancer this past July. Each year, her Mom would have a huge sleepover birthday party for her which all the girls looked forward to. This will be the first birthday she will have without her Mom and it will probably be difficult for her and her Dad and brothers.
