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Kelly Lippert - I Had No Reason To Look Out For Signs Of Cancer, So I Didn't.


Kelly with his familyI know when my body tells me something. After all, we've been together day in and day out for quite a few years. In the summer of 2010, my body was telling me something was really wrong.

To me, age is a state of mind. Because I have children who literally are different generations, I live part of my life through the wonder and awe of my 4 year-old son and another part through the exuberant independence of my 26 and 21 year-old children.

I'm really active and agile, spending loads of time hiking, riding motorcycles, playing football and staying in shape. I had no reason to think I should be on the lookout for early warning signs of cancer. So I didn't. I put every test off even though my father had prostate cancer. I never saw a point to seeing a doctor regularly. I felt healthy and fit. But I didn't do myself any favors by not having regular physicals and blood tests.

When my very dependable body started speaking to me, I felt in my bones that something wasn't right. I had trouble urinating and was up a few times a night finding my way to the bathroom. I chalked that up to my age and even an enlarged prostate. I had seen the commercials on TV and even did little research. No problem a little medication couldn't solve. Maybe next week I'll see my doctor and get it checked. That was the beginning of 2010. When a recurring and then constant pain settled in I knew something was wrong. It took me another 3 weeks to see a doctor. When I did see a doctor, he was reluctant to tell me what was wrong. Deep down, I knew that it was cancer, so I took charge. I stayed on top of doctor's appointments and tests that I needed to schedule and pushed everything forward as quickly as possible. I believe that I saved my life. I knew that the earlier you get it diagnosed, the better off you are. I scheduled my appointments back to back because every day counts.

Within 15 days of bone scans and other tests, I was fully diagnosed with an aggressive stage IV cancer in my prostate and my lymph nodes, so I realized it was spreading through my body. That full diagnosis was a shock. I could have jumped on this a couple of months earlier. Could it have helped? I do believe that every day counts.

I believe I can beat this thing. I have great motivation watching two of my beautiful kids become adults, finishing grad school, and spending as much time as possible with my wife and young son. If I hadn't acted on my instincts to push the tests through, when the doctor didn't want to tell me what was going on, I might not have that time with my family. They are everything.

I will always believe that the earlier you find cancer, the better you can fight it.


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