Hello, how are you today?

Now the title of this post might sound dramatic to some but for people with cancer it’s an everyday reality.

Mr T is right. You can’t quit because if you do it’s all over. If you quit you die. It’s that simple.

I thought I’d write a short post about this as I feel it’s important that people have a full understanding of this side of the cancer journey.

A lot of my blog, Instagram and Facebook posts are upbeat and determined about my cancer journey. Some are not, but I think most are. You can always disagree with me.

People who have, or had, cancer will understand what I’m writing about more than most. It’s also very possible that if you’ve had a loved one, relative, friend or just someone you know go through cancer you may get this too.

When you get cancer you spend everyday fighting for your life, and I mean everyday. If you don’t fight everyday then eventually the enemy will win. If cancer is the enemy and it wins then we all know what that means. So for those of us with cancer, we fight. Everyday, we fight.

We fight for ourselves, our families, friends and everyone else we care about. We do this because we want to live. We do this because we don’t want our children to watch us die. We do this because we know there are people who care about us. We do this everyday.

We fight regardless of what cancer we have, what stage it is, what treatment we are going through. We keep fighting until we win, or we lose, or we give up because it gets too hard. Believe me when I say that sometimes it is hard. Unbelievably hard. That doesn’t mean I’m going to give up because I’m not. This fight is part of the journey and I intend to reach the end and get into full remission. I just will. I’ve decided that.

Having said that it doesn’t mean that everyday is hard. Somedays are amazing. Somedays I don’t even think about the fight that I’m in. Somedays are so good that I just enjoy the whole day. I have to be able to do that otherwise I’d go nuts. It doesn’t alter the reality though that my body is still fighting this disease everyday. Cancer doesn’t take a day off, so my body can’t either.

I realise that different people have different experiences with cancer and what I write may not resonate with everyone. This, though, is my experience and I write purely from my perspective. It’s cathartic and helps me get through the whole process. If it helps someone else then I’m glad that these words that I write can have a positive impact on someone else’s life. This is one of the reasons that I ask you and everyone else to share my posts because you just don’t know who it’s going to touch. It’s not about the ‘likes’ or the ‘follows’ because they don’t save lives. They’re nice to have but they’re not that important in the grand scheme of things. What’s important is that people are supported, cared for, loved, helped, inspired, educated and everything else that goes towards helping others on this journey through cancer.

I’m going to underline this again. If you don’t have cancer you need to stop and realise that people who do have cancer are fighting for their lives. And sometimes it’s fucking hard.

I read articles by other people with cancer. I follow people on Instagram who have cancer. I talk to people who have cancer. I look at everybody who has cancer every time I go to the hospital for my treatment. Everyone with cancer has a story. Some people are more likeable than others. That’s life. You can’t gel with everyone. However you can have compassion for those who are going through this shit disease.

Just take a moment to stop and think: “What if it was me? How would I want to be treated?”

I hope you never have to go through this. I really do. But if you do, or if you are, never give up. There are so many people out there who know what you’re going through, who have walked in your footsteps. You are not alone. Reach out. Please reach out. Don’t give up. Whatever country you live in look for the organisations that can help you. Look for the people that will support you. Look and you will find.

Now at this point I have to hold my hands up and say I haven’t exactly been perfect when it comes to helping others. It’s very easy to take life for granted when you’re not faced by death everyday. I’ve been that person who maybe didn’t reach out when I should of done, and that’s not just cancer related. There are times when I’ve let people down in my life. That’s a reality and I have to own it.

Since being diagnosed with stage 4 mantle cell lymphoma I’ve done a lot of soul searching. I’ve had to have some long hard conversations with myself. I’ve had to take a long hard look at my life and how I’ve lived it. I’m human, I’m not perfect. Who is? But I’m progressing. I’m learning. I’m trying to become a better person. A more caring person. Cancer will do that to you. It will make you question a lot about your life. The most important thing, as well as surviving, is to learn from it. Life is not about perfection it’s about progresion. Evolving to become a better person for yourself, as well as others. Love yourself, it’s important.

I’m going to leave it there now. The title of this post says it all, and I’ve expanded on it a little in a way that I hope brings some understanding to it.

As a footnote I’ll add that this doesn’t just have to be about cancer. It can be applied to anyone in a long term battle with anything life threatening.

Big love to you all! Live life and don’t take it for granted.

The battle continues, Jon