Wow ! I am genuinely blown away by the comments and warmth extended me by those who replied to my first post.

On the other hand, such a response is no surprise to me, and is not only typical of the people who are brought together by this truly horrid disease, but almost predictable as well.

Thank you all so very much. If ever one could imagine a positive side effect of cancer, it is the truly awesome people you meet along the way. Prior to being diagnosed with cancer, I was a crew member and Training Officer of one of the busier Coast Guard Auxiliary Units operating on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada, and I used to think participating in safe boating education and life saving activity brought me together with the warmer side of humanity.

By comparison, responding to maritime distress situations only served to prepare me to meet the warmer side of humanity that began when I first entered the Fraser Valley Cancer Centre located in Surrey, BC, a city-suburb of Greater Vancouver.

It didn't matter whether I was in the company of the head oncologist at the Centre (who just happened to be my radiation oncologist too !), or one of the many radiation technicians, chemotherapy nurses, surgical assistants, or the part-time greeter-receptionist, each and every person was warm, caring, considerate and sensitive of myself as a person as well as my condition.

And it continues in this forum. I don't know if the forum is ready for my style of communication, but I have been encouraged by many to share not only my personal experience with others who suffer the same health condition as I, but the particulars of the approach I took in my battle against this beast. Other than the occasional brief mention of same here and there on the internet, I had not found an appropriate venue to discuss what I consider to be the right mind-set necessary to succeed in this effort, or at the very least, what worked for me in wrestling the disease to a state of remission which I believe others could employ to a similar result.

The way I look at it, every patient and every patient's situation is unique to that individual, and while there are many similarities amongst us all, there are just as many differences, and who knows for absolute sure what combination worked and what combination did not ?

All I know for sure is once on this path, there is no getting off, and one has no option but to continue the fight by gathering as many arrows for his or her quivver for future use as possible. You can never be over-prepared for combat with cancer.

I cannot imagine any cancer patient, survivor, caregiver, loved-one, or health professional ruling out a suggestion that had a positive impact on somebody else's personal struggle to survive.

We all have strengths and weaknesses, and the battle against cancer surely brings out the best and worst of both. I recall often a statement I later modified to reflect my personal philosophy of life: My greatest strength is my willingness to accept my greatest weakness, for then I am able to focus my energies on the positive improvement of both myself as well as others.

Perhaps as I become more familiar with this website and its member forums, I may have found an audience who might derive benefit from what I am able to share with anyone so inclined to consider.

However, I don't wish to get ahead of myself, as the purpose of this post was primarily to express my thanks for the joyous welcome afforded me. I shall retain that welcome in memory in order to hopefully pass it on to others I encounter wherever this path may take me.

Sincerely,
JT2

PS: As suggested, I updated my signature to reflect a summary of my particulars for ease of reference by the reader. Thanks, I appreciated the tip !