It’s been ages since I’ve done much in the way of writing about my cancer journey here, but it’s time to start writing again.

I was raised in the Catholic church, but quickly fell away from the church after leaving home for college in 1996, and have never attended church as an adult. Despite having been baptized and confirmed and doing all of the things a good young Catholic boy ought to have done (except becoming an altar boy, which I refused), I never established a firm connection with either God or the church during my childhood, but have still largely lived a very moral and Christian life. This is the story of my return to Faith, the Church, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Based on an estimate out of the UK that cancer diagnosis are down by 75% due to coronavirus lockdowns, the U.S. could easily be missing 25,000 cancer diagnosis per week. At the same time, evidence from antibody testing has emerged showing that the coronavirus is at least an order of magnitude more prevalent than believed, which also brings the estimated fatality rates down as well. Are lockdown policies really correct? How many otherwise healthy people are being saved from COVID19 lockdowns, only to lose other lives elsewhere from cancers that aren’t detected or are detected too late, along with other health screenings that are being missed. Robust public policy debate is needed, but isn’t happening.

Community guidance and thoughts about SAR-CoV-2 / COVID19 from a number of testicular cancer experts and health care professionals, and how it could impact testicular cancer fighters and survivors, and a little advice for everybody else as well from someone that’s been there before. In many ways, so much of what I experienced as a cancer fighter and survivor has been coming back in the face of this global pandemic.

I can still have nightmares about cancer now and again even nearly a decade after my diagnosis, but I don’t let them bother me.

As pressed for time as I tend to be on a day to day basis, I can’t not do a photography blog about our recent trip to Italy. By all means, check out the full photo albums, but here I just wanted to share the “wow” photos that I thought were the most interesting or beautiful.

We were so upset that we got rained out going to our hometown Andrews Air Show this year, that we drove all the way to Dover, DE for the Thunder Over Dover air show, and had a great time. We saw a lot of planes that we hadn’t seen nor even heard of before, and got to see some military demonstrations that we hadn’t ever seen either. Overall the Dover AFB Show was awesome. We look forward to going again next year!

When it comes to crowded summer beaches with zillions of people, there’s nothing better than fast prime lenses to help keep your photos focused on your subjects, and not on other beachgoers! Beach photography with my Canon EOS RP and Canon 35mm f/1.4L and 135mm f/2L lenses.

We went to Shenandoah National Park over Memorial Day weekend this year. Unlike in the past where we’d enter at Thornton Gap and just stick around the central district, this time we entered at the north end of the park in Front Royal, and made our way almost all the way down to the south end of the park at Mile 80. Our kids are all a bit older now at 10 and 12, so they’re capable of a lot more than they were even a few years ago, and our dog has proven to be quite the hiker as well, so our trip to SNP was a lot of new adventures for us in an old place.

William and I made our way all the way down to Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in Alton, VA, a 4 hour drive from the DC area, for HyperFest 2019 and a boys only weekend. It was a blast to see all sorts of cool cars blasting around, and getting to camp out at the track.

I was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 33 and thought my life was over, but today I’m an 8 year survivor of the disease, and at the age of 41 I’m not even a young adult anymore. Times change, perspectives change, we all grow and evolve not just as cancer survivors but in life itself. At this point I just don’t give a (bleep) about cancer anymore. Here’s why.

A photo tour of our trip to Turks and Caicos in the British West indies with my new full-frame Canon EOS RP camera. Enjoy!

My youngest turning 10 has been an unexpectedly big deal for me in my cancer survivor life, and it’s as though some massive box that I never knew about has suddenly been checked. My biggest fears about cancer were never dying or a life not lived, but rather not being around for my family and my children. They still have a lot of growing up to do, but with both now 10 or over, they’ll never be able to say that they never knew their father, and that’s a great moment for me.

William and I built our first ever Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby car together. We just wanted to build a cool looking car that we could be proud of and would hopefully be fast, but we had no idea that our “Coupe de Will” would be so competitive that it would be in serious contention to win the entire event! Here’s the story of how we built our totally rookie but fiercely competitive Coupe de Will Pinewood Derby car

It’s sobering to look back through my long list of cancer blogs and all the hell that young adult cancer put me through, but it’s an honor to still be here, an honor to have a voice, and to serve as one of many beacons of light to help guide and inspire others to find their way after cancer.