Lori Luedtke

When we get cancer all the attention is focused on us, but the demands of caregiving can leave behind family and loved ones that need attention as well. Especially our children.

It's important to celebrate the mini-victories along the cancer journey, whether it's with your favorite food or a small parade.

Friends would often ask me why I was doing all this running and biking. I had no answer for them. Now, looking back, I know that God was preparing me for the biggest race of my life: my cancer journey!

As I have gone through this cancer journey, I have realized that people don’t know what to say or do when a loved one has cancer. I can speak out on my firsthand experiences and offer some advice.

Creating more personal time tops the list of goals many people want to accomplish. With work time, partner or family time and social time all demanding our attention, we are constantly juggling our day-to-day responsibilities. “Me-time” allows us to de-stress, unwind and rejuvenate. Taking time for yourself allows you to renew, heal and create reserves of energy and peace.

Don’t let a terminal diagnosis get you down to the point where you stop living your life. Have an adventure, buy the shoes and eat the cake.

This cancer living inside of me has been life altering. On the outside you may think that things are not so bad. What you are not seeing is that my cancer is incurable.

Four out of 100. That is the survival rate for stage 4 glioblastoma: four percent.