3 year reflections (or why I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane)

I was diagnosed 3 years ago (7/1/2022). This year (2025) marked my 3 year since diagnosis (I won't call it a cancer-versary, not my cup of tea but if it works for you, great!)

So what have I learned over three years?

First of all, I need to come first. That doesn't mean at the expense of others, or that I don't need to take others feelings into account, but at the end of the day, it's my life and I need to live it the way that makes me feel best and like I am making the most of the time that I am here.

Whether it's jumping out of a plane (see gallery and video below) or deciding on a treatment, I need to be able to separate what I think is best for me and then help others understand why I make the decisions I do. Even if it's tough. Ultimately, people may or may not understand the choices I make, but it's not my job to make choices for them (although they factor in) but it is my job to help them understand my rationale.

Do I think everyone is happy that I do dangerous things like jumping out of airplanes? Of course I don't, I am not an idiot. But, it is important to me to prove to myself that I am alive, present, enjoying myself, and pushing my limits. I work hard to help others understand.

Here are some of the photos and videos from my jump. I will get to more lessons after.

Second thing I have learned and I am thinking about. BE PRESENT. I work on this everyday. I have a temporary tattoo that I am considering making permanent (treatment impacts will help decide when).

"Just be" is my new mantra. A constant, easy to see, reminder to stay present and to be in the moment. Gone are the days when I worry a lot about what might happen, and here to stay (and it's ongoing work to get there) are my attempts at being in the moment and living one moment and one day at a time. "What ifs" are my enemy, and staying present and grounded helps me avoid them and the spiral they create.

"Just be" reminds me to be in the moment, and the placement on my wrist is so that it's easy to see it and serves to help me be present and grounded. I have played with "just be me", "just be where/when I am", "just be who I am", etc. But "just be" was the mega concept. And it's in lower case letters and a casual font because that's who I am as a person (don't forget, I am in marketing!).

Third. Be who I am. don't try to impress others, and don't change myself, even when keeping others in mind. I don't need to apologize for who I am. I need to be sympathetic, empathetic and thoughtful of others, but I don't need to change who I am. I like myself and that's good enough for me!

Fourth, enjoy the fuck out of life. Not because I have cancer. We are all going to die and don't really no when so why wouldn't we enjoy while we are here? Have fun, take risks, do new things. My favorite quote (one of them) is "Great things never came from comfort zones". I am a big believer in that.

Which leads me to my fifth learning. Don't make huge complicated plans, just do shit. I don't usually read self-help books, but I am reading a book called Meditations for Mortals. One of the early points is that we shouldn't overthink things. Sometimes, we just have to go do, not plan, not worry, but just do. I love this.

I read a business book a while ago about taking risks (I don't read those a lot either) called Fail Fast, Fail Often. One of the lessons that I took away from it was to not make big grandiose plans but to make small change faster. For example, don't plan to go on some huge diet that you think about and debate for weeks, just eat better at your next meal. You don't have to plan some huge hiking trip 6 months from now and wait for it, go take a walk outside right now. Live more in the moment, not in your big plans for the future.

Anyway, that's what's resonated for me three years into this. Honestly, one of the best parts of going through cancer is that I am now thinking about all of this. I am a little sad that it took a difficult situation to force me to be more thoughtful. This was a long time in coming for me but it's here now and I am grateful for it..

But, as I have said before, I am thankful. I am more thoughtful, more engaged, happier and living my life in a way which I wish I had a long time ago.

Thanks for reading.