Me:  "Erik, Ayden, I want you to know we swam today for Dad bc he has cancer."
Boys:  "Is he going to die?"
Me:  "No, he's not going to die."
Boys: "Is it kind of of like the flu, mama?"
Yes:  "Yes, it's sort of like the flu...."

This was a conversation I had with my boys on our car ride home from last summer's SAA swim, after I accidentally announced on the local TV network that I swam in honor of my husband, Pete.  I hadn't even told the kids about his cancer diagnosis yet.  It was a crazy time of uncertainty.  Last summer, we didn't know what treatments he needed, we didn't know timing, we didn't know where to do the treatment.  Mentally, it was tough on all of us.   Fast forward to this year and after many opinions, biopsies, MRIs, etc., in June, Pete had a radical prostatectomy.  

Although there are so many emotions we underwent, the one we are holding on tightest to is gratitude…..Gratitude that it went well, gratitude that during post-op ER visits, we lived in an area of the world that has access to medicine/top doctors, and  gratitude that we just got back clear margins from pathology!  YAHOO --- Pete is still working through post-op issues, but hopefully over time those will all get better as well!  

I'm still holding on hope that in another 5-10 years, other people with Pete’s diagnosis won’t have to endure what he is going through, which was rough at best.  Maybe it could be as simple as telling your children “Yes, it’s sort of like the flu….” and it will be….As most of you know, I've been swimming in SAA events for over 30 years.  This summer, our entire family will be participating in the Boston event….We’d love your support – or even better, come out and join our team on August 12th!   SAA has raised $100m for cancer research over the years and let's keep doing what we do until a cure is found!