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Cancer Survivor Vows to LIVE STRONG
His website begins like this: "My name is Andrew. I am an Extra-Gonadal Germ Cell tumor (Testicular Cancer) survivor. I was a married 28-year-old father of two when I was diagnosed with cancer in 2003. January of 2004 I was pronounced 'cancer-free'. I was blessed with the birth of my third child this May. October 4, 2004 I was informed that my cancer had returned. I rode 25 miles to help my fellow cancer survivors Live Strong on October 17, 2004."
When Andrew Molenda (Oklahoma) decided that he wasn't going to let Testicular Cancer beat him, it called for a complete change of his view on life. "When the cancer came back a second time, I had already gotten comfortable again. The second diagnosis hurt almost as much as the first. So, once again, I had to change my perspective. You never know what tomorrow is going to bring." |
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Andrew recently approached Sigma Nu wanting to share his story to help raise awareness about Testicular Cancer. "For white men age 15-35, it"s the #1 form of cancer. If they are going to get cancer, that"s the kind they are going to get," reports Andrew. To help educate and raise awareness, he often speaks at schools and with community groups. He says, "Just like women should be doing a monthly self-breast exam to check for signs of breast cancer, men need to do a monthly self-exam of their testicles." But, as Andrew points out, there isn't a lot of education about self-exams for men. He knows, because he's heard it over and over again from other survivors, especially the younger ones, that if they'd had more information and knew to check, the cancer might have been caught earlier and their treatment could have been less invasive. (For complete instructions on how to do a self exam, visit Andrew's website and scroll halfway down the front page.)
With all that he's gone through -- two major surgeries and two major rounds of chemo -- it"s important to Andrew to keep a good attitude and to maintain a normal life as much as possible. He still goes to work. He spends as much time as he can with his three small children. And he sees himself as a cancer survivor, not as a cancer victim. "It doesn"t keep me from living my life -- I don't let it. You have to have that attitude."
Andrew's second diagnosis comes with the news that he will need to have surgery again. This time removing the tumor means they will also need to remove his bladder, nerve bundles (which effect male erectile function) and possibly some portion of his colon and muscles in the pelvic area. There is a slim possibility that the tumor could be treated with chemotherapy, but on the chance that it can't, Andrew says, "I'm preparing myself mentally for the reality of how my life will change from this surgery." This news, he says, was initially very upsetting, "but now I am resolved to fight like hell."
Andrews Wife Amy with Anne Curry And Andrew
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It's that strength and resolve that is an encouragement to so many other survivors who come into contact with Andrew. He's received many letters and e-mails thanking him for the positive attitude and the encouragement he shares through his website. In the same way, he says, Lance Armstrong has been Andrew's inspiration. This is the second year Andrew has raised money for the Ride for the Roses, which celebrates the grassroots fundraising efforts of the Peloton Project, the Lance Armstrong Foundation's major outreach and awareness effort. At the 2004 Ride, Andrew got to meet Lance Armstrong in person, and he served on a survivor panel interviewed by Anne Curry of the Today Show. |
He still plans to ride in the 2005 Ride for the Roses weekend which will be held in October in Austin, Texas. Yet he is not as confident that he will be able to be in Washington, DC for LIVESTRONG™ day in June. He was going to go as an advocate for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. He would have been speaking to Congress about support for cancer survivors. Although 1 in 3 Americans will get cancer in their lifetime, he says, the disease does not have the same death rate that it once had. "Because more people are surviving cancer today, instead of preparing to die they now have to learn how to live," says Andrew. Legislation to fund survivor programs is currently stalled in Congress and the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Andrew included, is making an effort to give it legs again.
As he prepares to face this new diagnosis, he gets a lot of encouragement from his family. In response to Andrew's blog about the upcoming surgery, his father writes, "I know why Bill Cosby said his son was his hero. It is the strength you see in your progeny that makes life valuable and strong. My thoughts and prayers are with you, one of my most precious heroes."
This strength that his father mentions is evident in how Andrew lives today. A quote from his website says, "Part of being a cancer survivor is finding a meaning for why you were allowed to survive." So he continues to hold tight to those things that matter most, maintaining a fighting attitude, supporting other survivors, promoting awareness and loving his family: his wife Amy and their three children, 6-year-old Liam, 2 ½-year-old Alena, and 11-month-old Evan. "I try to focus on each day and enjoy it. My family is really important to me, so I do all I can to spend time with them now and enjoy my life for today."
To learn more:
Andrew's website
Andrew's blog
The Lance Armstrong Foundation
Cyclists Combating Cancer
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