Eleven years ago today, I received what I believed at the time was a death sentence: Stage IV lung cancer.
It was not.
Ironically, I walked out of that doctor’s office with my head held high. But as I turned the corner and began the quarter-mile walk home… the tears came.
I cried for the life I thought I was losing.
What I did not know then was that I was not walking toward the end of my story.
I was walking toward a new beginning.
Those eleven years have brought pain, chemotherapy, another Stage IV cancer, bladder cancer, uncertainty, and more challenges than I ever imagined.
But they have also brought faith, awareness, purpose, writing, cycling, and countless sunrises I was never supposed to see.
That journey became the inspiration for my poetry book:
CANCER’S GIFT: CONVERSATIONS OF A WALKING DEAD MAN
And my soon to be published second book:
CANCER’S GIFT: THE GIFT OF AWAKENING-FURTHER CONVERSATIONS OF A WALKING DEAD MAN
It is not a book about dying.
It is a book about learning how to live.
If my journey helps even one person face their own challenges with hope instead of fear, then every mile of this road has been worth it.
To my immediate family—thank you. I have never been alone during these battles. You have been my staunchest supporters.
Thank you to everyone who has prayed for me, encouraged me, and walked beside me these past eleven years.
Most of all, I thank God for His grace, His mercy, and for every sunrise He has allowed me to witness.
Here’s to another day… and another ride.
Peace and blessings!
Michael J. Simien Sr.
