Bill, one of my regulars here at Phil’s Camino graduated with full honors today. This is the next level above Cancer Camper and requires a certain new awareness and new level of gratitude. Cancer it seems does it’s best to squeeze the best out of us if we can handle the process.

It’s been a long time since we have talked about this stuff so maybe I need to back up a little. A Cancer Camper is someone who has gone beyond a Cancer Patient. This person has found the place where he is dealing well with all the blows that come at one from the disease and the treatment of the disease and the fear of the disease. I like to think of the kid half way through the week at summer camp, he is sunburnt and insect bit but having a great time overall.

To move beyond that requires a realization that you owe your upbringing, support system and God a thank you for your resilience. You realize that you are in a special position and you see that what you know and are now able to do could be very helpful to others. You have achieved a certain level of empathy giving you the gift of being able to relate to all kinds of folks in all sorts of situations. You are ready to go out.

Bill got there today. I am so glad for him. It is not a coincidence that he has a major scan tomorrow and after six months since the last. These turn out to be some of the toughest times for us. But somehow Bill has been able to harness this stress and turn it into a level change and I am happy for him.

So that’s how it is today at Phil’s Camino. Hope you all are doing well. Talk to you soon, love, Felipe.x