What’s it like to go through cancer treatment? It’s something like this:

One day, you’re minding your own business, you open the fridge to get some breakfast, and OH MY GOD THERE’S A MOUNTAIN LION IN YOUR FRIDGE.
Wait, what? How? Why is there a mountain lion in your fridge? NO TIME TO EXPLAIN. RUN! THE MOUNTAIN LION WILL KILL YOU! UNLESS YOU FIND SOMETHING EVEN MORE FEROCIOUS TO KILL IT FIRST!

So you take off running, and the mountain lion is right behind you. You know the only thing that can kill a mountain lion is a bear, and the only bear is on top of the mountain, so you better find that bear. You start running up the mountain in hopes of finding the bear. Your friends desperately want to help, but they are powerless against mountain lions, as mountain lions are godless killing machines. But they really want to help, so they’re cheering you on and bringing you paper cups of water and orange slices as you run up the mountain and yelling at the mountain lion - “GET LOST, MOUNTAIN LION, NO ONE LIKES YOU” - and you really appreciate the support, but the mountain lion is still coming.

Also, for some reason, there’s someone in the crowd who’s yelling “that’s not really a mountain lion, it’s a puma” and another person yelling “I read those mountain lions are allergic to kale, have you tried rubbing kale on it?”

As you’re running up the mountain, you see other people fleeing their own mountain lions. Some of the mountain lions seem comparatively wimpy - they’re half grown and only have three legs or whatever, and you think to yourself - why couldn’t I have gotten one of those mountain lions? But then you look over at the people who are fleeing mountain lions the size of a monster truck with huge prehistoric saber fangs, and you feel like an XXX for even thinking that - and besides, who in their right mind would want to fight a mountain lion, even a three-legged one?

Finally, the person closest to you, whose job it is to take care of you - maybe a parent or sibling or best friend or, in my case, my wife - comes barging out of the woods and jumps on the mountain lion, whaling on it and screaming “DAMMIT MOUNTAIN LION, STOP TRYING TO EAT MY HUSBAND,” and the mountain lion punches your wife right in the face. Now your wife (or whatever) is rolling around on the ground clutching her nose, and she’s bought you some time, but you still need to get to the top of the mountain.
Eventually, you reach the top, finally, and the bear is there. Waiting. For both of you. You rush right up to the bear, and the bear rushes the mountain lion, but the bear has to go through you to get to the mountain lion, and in doing so, the bear TOTALLY KICKS YOUR XXX, but not before it also punches your wife in the face. And your wife is now staggering around with a black eye and bloody nose, and saying “can I get some help, I’ve been punched in the face by two apex predators and I think my nose is broken,” and all you can say is “I'm KIND OF BUSY IN CASE YOU HADN’T NOTICED I’M FIGHTING A MOUNTAIN LION.”

Then, IF YOU ARE LUCKY, the bear leaps on the mountain lion, and they are locked in an epic battle until finally the two of them roll off a cliff edge together, and the mountain lion is dead.

Maybe. You’re not sure - it fell off the cliff, but mountain lions are crafty. It could come back at any moment. (Like 5 times)

And all your friends come running up to you and say “that was amazing! You’re so brave, we’re so proud of you! You didn’t die! That must be a huge relief!”

Meanwhile, you blew out both your knees, you’re having an asthma attack, you twisted your ankle, and also you have been mauled by a bear. And everyone says “boy, you must be excited to walk down the mountain!” And all you can think as you stagger to your feet is “XXX this mountain, I never wanted to climb it in the first place.”

Yeah.....it's kinda like that.

My new motto and way of life. I'm going to wake up each morning and slap it!! What do you think? Will it help?

June is Men's Health Month

It's a time for men to pay attention to what's ailing us. A time to try to practice better health habits, get screened and stop standing on the top of the ladder. Some things probably aren't going to change though. Our blog post today has some information about Men's Health Month, take a look here>> https://bit.ly/2Bv7nMr Read and please use the share buttons and share on your social media channels.

A reminder for all of my fellow cancer survivors, next Sunday, June 7th is National Cancer Survivor's Day. It's sort of a big deal for us. It's a day that we can sit back and relax and look at what has tried to kill us and say, not this time. Our blog post today has some details and history about the day of cancer survivor celebration. Take a look and please share. Click here for the article >> https://bit.ly/2ZW8K0B

Yep, it's going to be time to strap our shoes on and go face the music again tomorrow. I wish you all the best in whatever issues and demons you're facing! Tomorrow is a gift, make the most of it!

Sometimes you just have to be thankful for those little things that are actually the Big things.

Always choose to be the sunshine instead of a gloomy Guss. It's like having a positive attitude, you can choose which way you're going to be each morning when you get up. These days I have a hard time getting up, getting going, and getting to feel better, then getting to think better. I'll admit, it's not all rainbows and unicorns when I get up in the morning anymore.

Have you gotten a 2nd opinion? Have you ever heard of a "virtual" 2nd opinion?

One thing that the Coronavirus outbreak has expedited is the whole world of "telehealth". Doctor's visits by computer. Some are even just doing a phone call. We have talked about these new types of doctor's visits here at WhatNext before, but haven't gotten into the 2nd opinion by computer or phone.

Our blog post today examines what a virtual second opinion is, how it works, what you will need to provide, and more. Take a look at the article here>> https://bit.ly/2Ab7GuU

Please click on the share buttons on the article to share it on your social media platforms, or email it to someone who may find it useful.

A 3 panel wall art piece I made yesterday. This piece is a total of 2 ft. tall and 3 ft. wide.

Treatment coming in the next couple of weeks. Who has had Keytruda? How did you do with it? Side effects? Thanks for your information. My latest blog post about my treatments and surgery in the next couple of weeks. Click here for the article>> https://www.whatnext.com/blog/posts/diagnosis-5-because-apparently-4-wasn-t-enough

On this Memorial Day Weekend all of us at WhatNext thank those who gave their lives for all of us. Remember them while we enjoy the freedoms we have.

Did you get our Newletter this morning in your email inbox?

We have just published our May Newsletter, you should get it in your email inbox that you used when you signed up on the WhatNext site. If you haven't been getting notifications and emails from the site please let us know and we will see if your email has been blocked. Our Newsletter can be seen here>> https://conta.cc/36mnmrr