When you hear the dreaded three words, “you have cancer,” your world stops. And then just as suddenly, it goes into complete chaos. You grasp around wildly, trying to get traction. You desperately try to make sense of why your own body trying to kill you. That’s when you look around for people who have walked your journey before you. They become your cancer heroes. They help you decide how you will live the rest of your life.
You can decide how you are going to fight the disease. Will you quietly lie down and die? Will you just quit and get in the fetal position? Will you get angry and turn inward?
Or will you fight it with great courage and inspire others.
That’s what long-time ESPN anchor Stuart Scott did. Scott, 49, died today after a tough seven-year battle with the disease — but not before inspiring millions with his grit, fight and attitude. He used his public platform to lift others. “You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live,” Scott said this summer while receiving the Jimmy V Perseverance Award at the ESPNs in July. (The award named for the NC State basketball coach who died of cancer in 1993.)
Scott is survived by his two daughters, Taelor, 19,and Sydni, 14 and a whole bunch of us who lost an inspiration. Scott would wear a t-shirt that read, “Everyday I fight” and he did. Now, it’s up to the rest of us live our lives to the fullest and carry that fight on for him.
Boo-yah!