Cancer & Family Milestones

A milestone is an action or event marking a significant change or stage in development. I'm sure I wasn't the only one diagnosed with prostate cancer who wondered whether the diagnosis of cancer would cause me to miss some important milestones like becoming a grandfather, walking my daughter down the isle, or retirement.

Happily, I lived long enough to become a grandfather. This week, one of my son's is  moving from our home in CA to WV for a job he's wanted for years. Because cancer has changed my perspective on what's important in life, I made arrangements to take off from work for a month. (More accurately, I'm working from the road.) My wife &  I are driving with him on a 2,700 mile road trip across the country to help him move into his new apt.

On the way to WV we are stopping in Illinois to visit our oldest son &  his wife. After we spend some time helping our son move in, my wife & I are flying to Florida to enjoy a two week romantic vacation.

I wish I could say with certainty these are things I would have done before I was diagnosed with cancer, but I can't. As a cancer survivor, every milestone I live long enough to see has a new importance and meaning to me. So as I share in this journey across the country my heart breaks to be so far away from my son. I also experience a heart filed with gratitude that  I lived long enough to celebrate a family milestone. What important life lesson you've learned from cancer?
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Rick Redner and his wife Brenda are the authors of an awarding winning book written to help men and couples cope with life without a prostate. I Left My Prostate in San Francisco-Where’s Yours?
Coping With The Emotional, Relational, Spiritual & Sexual Aspects of  Prostate Cancer
 can  be previewed and purchased at
Amazon.com