Hearing From My Fellow Bruins!

I just received an official letter of support from UCLA Vice Chancellor Janina Montero (see below, click to enlarge). This will be circling to all the UCLA student groups on campus as official acknowledgement and support from the university in preparation for Team Janet UCLA Mega Drive on May 5th-7th at Bruin Plaza from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm during Bruin Health Week.

I’ve done nothing really except e-mail from behind a computer. There are a lot of unspoken heros in this journey between family, friends, and strangers alike. But when honestly wonderful things come out of a situation like this, I can’t really ignore the potentially good and well-intentioned P.R. it can do for other cancer patients. While the whole issue is centered around the fight against Mr. Luke/Leuk, the whole matter is now about CANCER.

“In the next few years, cancer will surpass heart disease as the number one cause of death in the United States. Every year, more than 1.2 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer, joining the 8 million who are presently living with this disease. Statistically, cancer is as common as acne and as ubiquitous as a male-pattern baldness.”

– Comprehensive Cancer Care: Integrating Alternative, Complementary, and Conventional Therapies. By: James S. Gordon, M.D. and Sharon Curtin

Enjoy the letter and please forward it to any friends and family you know. There’s something I want to make clear though: I desire no fame, no “celebrity status”, nothing. I had to sit down and figure out what is happening to me because I’ve assumed a face behind this for the university demographic, besides minority Americans. As soon as I heal over, I will be quick to change all my warfare uniform (a.k.a. hospital clothing) back into civilian attire, if you know what I mean. I wanted to assure you of the intentions behind all this, I guess, because it’s all suppose to be good … perhaps you can take it as my personal “revenge” against cancer.

I’m going to begin Round 7 out of 8 chemotherapy in less than a day with delayed intensification beginning with chemotherapy soldiers dexamethasone, vinchristine, and aspariginase …  but with a lot of motivation and reciprocal inspiration from everyone who cares. Thanks so much.