I got a call from my dad about two hours ago telling me that he didn't have cancer. We didn't really expect him to have cancer, but he has had a number of tests recently, including a needle biopsy, to determine the cause of a pain in his kidney. We just learned today that cancer isn't the cause. As I said before, we didn't think it was cancer, but we were all still quite relieved to get the good news.
As I thought about that, I couldn't help reflecting on a friend who lost his battle with stage 4 colon cancer two days ago. His funeral was today. When he went to the doctor with complaints of stomach pain, he didn't expect to hear that he had cancer either. But that's the news that he got. He died at the age of 49, three years after his diagnosis. So young! [I know that to a 15 year old that may not seem young, but to a 41 year old (me) it seems tragic.]
That brings me to the topic of procrastination. Tony procrastinated about going to the doctor when he started having symptoms, and it cost him his life. Could he have lived had he gone to the doctor earlier? We'll never know. But it likely would have helped.
Most of us procrastinate at one time or another. Yet, for me, life is so much sweeter when my work is done and I don't have "to do" lists hanging over my head during the day and swimming through my dreams at night. Does that mean I won't procrastinate any more? Probably not. However, I want to live my life to the very fullest each day. For me, that means focusing on what I need to do when I need to do it, so I can spend quality time doing the things I want to do with the rest of my time.
Tony used his diagnosis to do great things, including starting Friends of Tony, a charity for children's cancer research. He was a beautiful person and did great things with his life. I don't want to wait until I receive a terminal diagnosis before I make my life count. I want to get things done, so I can do what counts.
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