Sharing My Skin Cancer Story

Telling people about my cancer diagnosis was not easy to do. At the time of my diagnosis, we were in a different world than we are today. I had some skin cancers that came up on the top of my forehead. I didn’t tell anyone about it. I didn’t tell family, parents, anybody else. I was a sophomore at the University of Texas playing golf. I didn’t talk to anybody because I was afraid I would lose my scholarship. I was afraid I would lose my opportunity to compete.

I realize now that not sharing my story was the wrong decision because I could have gotten so much more help and more support. It was probably more of a personal stigma for me back then. It was more that I didn’t want anyone to know. Maybe ego and kind of a macho attitude got in the way of what was probably better for me.

Working here at LIVESTRONG, I see every day the value of telling those stories and sharing those stories. I realize that now there is a community of support. There’s a community of help. There’s a community of information that can make that journey much easier. I felt very alone back then and now there’s no reason to feel that way.

LIVESTRONG to me means doing anything and everything I can to improve the cancer experience of someone who is going through that journey.