Blood-Cancer.com Turns 2 🎉

Today, May 5th, 2020, Blood-Cancer.com turns 2 years old. Over the past two years, I've had the pleasure of meeting many of you virtually and getting to know your stories. It has been one of the greatest honors of my life.

The club nobody wants to be in

It's not a secret that nobody really wants to be part of a cancer support community. Nobody wants to hear the words, "you have cancer" or "we need to start treatment" or "let's get your BMT scheduled". Those can all be traumatizing experiences but it's what brings us together. It's why we're here.

Whether you are newly diagnosed, in treatment, in remission, looking for information, looking to connect with others, or just scrolling for a story to read, you are not alone here.

It's all worth it

Sometimes it can feel like I'm not doing much good sitting behind a screen. It's easy to get lost in the everyday tasks that come with managing a community, like building a newsletter and making sure people aren't selling snake oil as a cure for blood cancer.

But then I get to spend time interacting with you. I get to read your comments about how an article one of our advocates wrote made a difference in your day. I get to see strangers building relationships on our page, connecting over shared experiences that their friends and families don't understand. From time to time, I'm lucky enough to form one of those relationships and it makes everything so clearly worth it.

Finding beauty in the darkness

I recently learned that a member of our community, "Bluchs", passed away. It's an unfortunate reality of being in a community for people living with blood cancer. There will be stories of success, there will be stories of ongoing battles, and there will be those who leave us because of this horrible disease.

I had the honor of getting to know Bluchs over the past two years and I hope some of you did too. Bluchs was very open about his experience on our Facebook group and here on our website. He fought a long and tough battle and always kept a positive attitude towards others. He was selfless, kind, supportive, and extremely grateful to have a community of people who understood what he was going through. And he loved his children and grandchildren very much.

A celebration of life

A few months ago, Bluchs sent me this message:

"Please know that the work you are doing makes a difference in people's lives, a good difference. I am so glad I found your organization. Having cancer is such a frightening experience, I wish I was well enough to do volunteer work at the cancer center, but perhaps I can help online in some small way, you are helping in a large way. You can be proud of yourself and your team for that." -Bluchs

When Bluchs says, "You are helping in a large way," he's not just talking about me. It means all of you, every single person in this community. My team and I are just the caterers of the party and you are the honored guests who make the party a special place to be.

Everyone grab a glass

So, let's take a moment during this 2nd birthday of Blood-Cancer.com to remember and celebrate the life of Bluchs and the other friends and loved ones we've lost. Let's celebrate the relationships we've built and cheers to new ones to come. Let's be proud to be part of a community where support and connection are more powerful than our differences.

Happy birthday, Blood-Cancer.com ❤️