don’t ever give up – Living Well While Surviving Cancer

Walking for Cancer Cures

Read about my journey with the Lustgarten annual pancreatic cancer research walk. With photos and videos.

October is a big month for cancer research walks, especially since it is breast cancer awareness month. It’s also a big month for me, as my family and friends participated with me in the Lustgarten Pancreatic Research Foundation Walk on this past Sunday (October 6).

WE CAN EACH MAKE A DIFFERENCE. It is up to us to support more cancer research.

The October walk is Lustgarten’s largest fundraiser of the year. With thousands of walkers and nearly $1 million raised. 100% of funds raised go to research because all of Lustgarten’s administrative costs are paid by a private donor.

Before sharing a few photos and video clips, let me describe my feelings about the walk.

- Although my Whipple surgery was in February 2015, this was my first walk. So I was both excited and nervous.
- My fundraising efforts were through Team Joel. Our team was supported by more than 70 donors. And we raised $5,400.
- Team Joel had 14 walkers.
- Somehow or other, the cameras found me. I appeared in a News 12 Long Island TV clip. And because I was asked to do the ribbon cutting, I got featured online by Newsday.
- I was disappointed that I was only able to walk the 1 mile course rather than the 3 mile course. Once again I am reminded of a Clint Eastwood quote: “A man has to know his limitations.” And I have to always accept my “new normal.” I gave myself a 15 minute pity party; and then I returned to my usual “live life every day” and “live as long as you as well as you can.”
- Last, but not least, I want to thank all of the donors to Team Joel and those who walked with me.

The original Evans Four

Walking for Cancer Cures

THE EXTENDED FAMILY

Walking for Cancer Cures

TEAM JOEL

WHY I WALK

RIBBON CUTTING

How Effective Are Sleep Trackers?

Their accuracy is questioned.

I am one of tens of millions of people who wear fitness trackers. Last year, we wrote about wearables and health care. For me, monitoring the quality of my sleep in a key reason why I wear it. But, in reality, how effective are sleep trackers? Not very, it seems.

Last month, Brian X. Chen wrote an article for the NY Times entitled “The Sad Truth About Sleep-Tracking Devices and Apps.” Here’s what he concluded:

“I wore an Apple Watch, since it is one of the most popular health-tracking devices. I also downloaded a top-rated app called AutoSleep, which uses the Apple Watch’s sensors to follow my movements and determine when I fell asleep and woke up. (The Apple Watch lacks a built-in sleep tracker.) Here’s what AutoSleep gathered on my sleep habits.”

“But the excitement ended there. Ultimately, the technology did not help me sleep more. It didn’t reveal anything that I didn’t already know, which is that I average about five and a half hours of slumber a night. And the data did not help me answer what I should do about my particular sleep problems. In fact, I’ve felt grumpier since I started these tests.”

“That mirrored conclusions of a recent study from Rush University Medical College and Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Researchers noticed patients complaining about sleep data collected by apps and devices from Nike, Apple, Fitbit and others. In their study, they warned that sleep-tracking tech could provide inaccurate data and worsen insomnia by making people obsessed with achieving perfect slumber, a condition they called orthosomnia. It was one of the latest pieces of research supporting the idea that health apps don’t necessarily make people healthier.”

Click the image below to read more from Chen. Happy sleeping. 🙂

How Effective Are Sleep Trackers? — Image by Glenn Harvey

Making Apple Juice from Sour Apples

Make alternate plans and still live well!

As I have noted before, I am a very fortunate pancreatic cancer survivor. With such self-mottoes as: Live Life Every Day. And Live as Long Well as You Can as Long as You can. To me, that means striving to have a positive and upbeat attitude. We can only control our own actions.

Sometimes, life can be more challenging than others. But we still need to fight our way through those challenges. And assume the best about tomorrow and the days thereafter. Read about my difficult adventures last summer. Sometimes the Road Is More Bumpy.

Now that I recognize more fully what my travel limitations are, my wife Linda and I plan for quieter time. But we have managed to do THREE great trips this year: Costa Rica, Bermuda, and Antigua. We had a blast on each of these trips. Here is a fun picture from Antigua.

And a couple of weeks ago, we got to see the Rolling Stones in concert. This was a makeup date due to 76-year-old lead singer Mick Jagger having a heart procedure just a few months ago. He and the rest of the band were GREAT. And Mick was energetic and fully engaged in the show.

Life is fantastic!

Inspiration Through Videos

Over the past few months, I have been writing pieces that appear on Thrive Global. That site was founded by Huff Post’s Ariana Huffington. Today, let’s highlight the importance of inspiration through videos.

While you’re at it take a look at this post: Feeling Fortunate – Not Sorry for Oneself

Keep in Mind the Inspiration Through Videos

Here are some excerpts from my Thrive Global post on inspiration:

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, inspiration is “something that makes someone want to do something or that gives someone an idea about what to do or create. Thus, it is a force or influence that inspires someone.”

Today, I’d like to look at the power of inspirational video through three examples involving those who motivate us. Even in their absence due to cancer: Jim Valvano, Steve Jobs, and Randy Pausch.

For me, the most inspirational video comes from a speech by former champion basketball coach Jim Valvano. He gave the speech at an ESPN ESPY award ceremony shortly before his death. As noted on YouTube: “The V Foundation for Cancer Research was founded by ESPN and legendary basketball coach Jim Valvano with one goal in mind: to achieve victory over cancer. Since its start in 1993, the V Foundation has awarded over $170 million in cancer research grants nationwide. What stands out and inspires me every day is this Valvano quote from that speech: “To me there are three things everyone should do every day. Number one is laugh. Number two is think – spend some time in thought. And Number three, you should have your emotions move you to tears. If you laugh, think, and cry, that’s a heck of a day.” Here’s the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/HuoVM9nm42E

Also, check out the inspirational speeches by Jobs (https://youtu.be/UF8uR6Z6KLc) and Pausch (https://youtu.be/ji5_MqicxSo).

To read more, click on the image.

Jim Valvano ESPY Awards Video

To me, there are three tremendous videos of presentations by those suffering from a terminal illness. Today, we cover Jim Valvano’s speech at the 1993 ESPY Awards show. Jim was a championship college basketball coach.

As the V Foundation Web site notes:

“Don’t Give Up . . . Don’t Ever Give Up!”®

“With these words, Jim Valvano announced the beginning of the V Foundation for Cancer Research with ESPN’s support. During Jim’s memorable speech accepting the Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award at the inaugural ESPYS on March 4, 1993, his message was simple: cancer research needs our support.”

“Despite being weakened from his fight against cancer, he delivered an energetic and inspiring speech that brought the crowd to its feet. Although he passed shortly after his speech, Jim’s legacy lives on through the V Foundation.”

“For the past 25 years, the V Foundation has continued Jim’s message by funding incredible projects and researchers focused on finding and end to cancer. Because of the V Foundation’s generous supporters: More than $200 million has been awarded to cancer research and programs. 100% of every direct donation goes to cancer research. There are 16 million cancer survivors in the U.S., with that number expected to grow to 20.3 million by 2026.”