Thru-Walkers On The Blood Cancer Trail

One of the best and most well-known hiking trails in the United States is the Appalachian Trail (AT). Starting at the top of Springer Mountain in Georgia, it terminates at the crest of one of Maine’s highest mountains, Mount Katahdin, standing at 5,270 feet above sea level.

Needing resilience

Resilience (often also displayed by those with blood cancer) is said to be the backbone that defines and motivates the hardy and determined. On the AT “thru-walkers” attempt to complete the complete distance on this footpath in just one season. While there are always exceptions, typically it can take 5 to 7 months for a hiker to complete the 2,190-mile journey through 14 states.

Dedicated backpackers never utter their real names when on the trail, preferring instead to use “trail names” often assigned to them by others. While you can name yourself, doing so does not carry the same panache. The depersonalization of a thru-walker allows others to see them as super achievers and not part of everyday life. While thru-walkers are admired for their stamina, most of us never want to spend 6+ months walking in their shoes.

How blood cancer is like hiking the Appalachian Trail

I have never hiked the AT but somewhere while traveling on my 7-month blood cancer journey, and much like many Appalachian travelers on their quest, others frequently changed my name. I was no longer Dennis. I became a cancer warrior, a fighter, or the patient in Room 315. Lately, and at least for now, I have been called a blood cancer survivor.

Choosing to scramble over 2,100 miles of rough terrain and enduring the weather extremes from the summer heat and sun to facing frozen mountain tops is a significant challenge. Deciding to hike the many miles is a personal choice that one signs up for.

A blood cancer diagnosis and the subsequent journey is a life challenge no one wants and is unexpectedly, dropped in your lap.

Facing your personal limitations

Ben Franklin once noted that it was the things that hurt us most in life are the same things that instruct us. I believe that people learn more from challenges versus successes. Challenges teach us who we are and help us learn our strengths and capabilities as we look for ways to win in this game called life.

Blood cancer survivors much like Appalachian Trail thru-walkers understand that once you come to grips with your limitations, you can take steps to deal with them.  When you face reality, you are forced to overcome obstacles and, in the process, discover your true self and who you are at the deepest levels.

I've changed the way I view life

Challenges and obstacles change how we view life. I make no mistake about it. Blood cancer made me think differently and along the way, it has served to make me tougher. At the same time, it has helped me to see things differently and to be more tolerant and accepting.

In many ways, my blood cancer trek has allowed me to seek and find greater meaning in my life by offering me an opportunity to stand tall on remission mountain, see beyond the horizon of my inner troubles, and hopefully uplift other thru-walkers on their blood cancer trail.