Cancer is a huge cut into the life of people with the disease and their environment. Maybe the biggest challenge not lamenting with the situation is accepting it. Easier said than done, because life is completely different after a diagnosis. You and your loved ones have to deal with new realities in all aspects. However, acceptance is a precondition to stay positive. And a positive life is just more fun and this may mobilize new energies.

Acceptance does not mean giving up. I used to live on the fast track in various areas, including as a performance cross country skier. I am therefore used to fight. My new competition is getting through the therapies. However, I always try to distinguish between fighting back into life in contrast to fighting against cancer itself.

The disease is very individual and nobody knows to what degree you can positively influence it. Over time you will see all outcomes. Cancer may be stronger irrespectively. Accept this and keep on going with a positive spirit! It definitely makes your time now more valuable and, who knows, it might contribute positively to cure cancer.

On your journey, you can’t often enough thank all the people supporting you, appreciating what they are doing with some words, a smile, a joke, positivity – whatever is appropriate. This expression of gratefulness is so much acknowledged that it becomes life-changing for them, you and your relations. Going a step further, being grateful for your past and present life can mobilize lots of positive energy. Some might write down every day, which positive things they have experienced. However you do it, the important thing is that you look at your life and appreciate all the happy moments, positive experiences and achievements. Hopefully you get to a point, at which you are happy with no regrets. That makes it so much easier to cope with cancer!

My cancer journey: I was diagnosed with the rare cancer type “Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC)” in July 2017 (only 1-2 in a million get this every year…lucky punch!). At the time, I had a 20cm huge tumor, already grown into the surrounding organs/veins. Given that ACC is quite aggressive, often comes back and, therefore, has a poor prognosis, my situation was very serious. But after surgery, 4 chemo cycles and a permanent tablet chemotherapy, cancer was in sleeping mode for more than 1 ½ years, before it built metastases in my liver, which have responded to chemotherapy so far.

ABOUT Marc

Bio

• Erlinsbach

Diagnosis

• Other Rare Cancer (e.g., Mesothelioma or Bone/Joint Cancer)

Primary Treatment

• Surgery

Primary Cancer Center

• Other

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