Karen,

I absolutely agree. Before I was diagnosed, I was in the habit of spending 50-60 hours a week at work (which was pretty much the norm in my business). My illness caused me to think hard about how I was using my time, and it was sometime around then that I heard the saying, "No one goes to their grave wishing they had spent more time in the office."

After I started feeling better, I worked out a plan where I could operate on mostly a "non-overtime" work week so as to leave time for volunteer work, travel, musical commitments and other things I felt were important. More recently, I cut back to a part-time work schedule to allow even more room for the things that keep me recharged.

Cancer has a way of teaching you that every day is a gift. If someone told me I could go back 15 years and avoid having cancer, but that I would have to take my chances and maybe miss out on all the great things that have happened to me since then, I would say "no" in a heartbeat.