H.O.P.E.: How to slay a dragon’s little brother

At 5:30 p.m. on April 17, 2001, I received a call from my plastic surgeon. He got straight to the point: “You have cancer.” Those three words sent me into a tailspin. A tailspin that took me well over a year to recover from.

I had malignant melanoma.  Malignant melanoma is the most fatal of the types of skin cancer and a very aggressive form of the disease.  Mine was caught early, so my chances of survival were good. But I something inside me still snapped. My own skin had turned on me.  I’d never be able to trust a mole again. I was crippled by anxiety.

I’ve joked that I’m a Sagittarius but I was born under the sign of Cancer. Both my parents are cancer survivors and I lost a grandmother to the disease.  So to me, it was more than rogue cells. It was a monster.

Few people knew about my surgery for about a year — I kept it very, very quiet.  That meant I also struggled in silence.  I tried everything to calm the anxiety.  Nothing, even pharmaceuticals, worked.

I was asked to write a column about skin safety awareness. The response was overwhelming; I heard from so many people who got screened after reading my column. Life changed for the better at that moment.

H.O.P.E: How to slay a dragon’s brother is not a scientific piece.  It’s only been tested on one person — me. But it’s  the result of ten years of struggling with a beast that nearly crippled me.  I now give this talk to other cancer survivors.  So many have told me that they have found peace by following the steps.  That brings me peace as well.

A couple of years ago I was running out on the Pearl River levee in downtown Jackson. I got the idea to tell H.O.P.E. in the form of a short story.  The following is the result of that run.  And since it is in a blog format, I will continue to update the chapters to include more information to support my thesis. But at this point, I can tell you this: It has allowed me to slay the dragon’s brother.  I think it can help you, too.

Marshall

Part One: The introduction

Part Two: H = Humor

Part Three: O = Opportunity to Serve

Part Four: P= Physical Well Being

Part Five: E = Education

Part Six: The Conclusion.