"You either let [cancer] suck the life out of you, or you suck the life out of it."
Gerard Campion
In 2006, Gerard Campion was diagnosed with male breast cancer. Although his cancer was detected early and he underwent treatment, Campion was diagnosed with metastatic stage 4 breast cancer in 2011.
"My first cancer, after all the treatments, the oncologist said, 'There's a 92 percent chance the cancer won't come back.' I heard 100 percent. I was cured. In my mind, cancer had left my life.
"Second cancer has arrived. It's not going to go away. It is going to get me. I will tell you quite honestly, I was not a nice person to be around after my first breast cancer, and this is going to sound crazy, but my second bout of breast cancer, things have changed, I'm doing a lot of very proactive things. My wife and I are being much more open about it, and we're much more patient. I'm enjoying people more. I've embraced my adversity, and it can either get me or fight like hell to get me, and it's going to have to fight like hell. I really feel great, and when you say to people 'I have never felt better,' my wife laughs at me - how can you say that?
"I have never felt better physically or mentally in my life than I do today, and I have metastatic stage four breast cancer. I am living a very vibrant, vital life. I'm who I am. You can live with cancer."
Gerard Campion is a financial advisor and motivational speaker. He enjoys his kids, grandkids, golf, and trains. His wife of 40 years, the “love of his life,” is also a breast cancer survivor.
For more stories on cancer survival, visit WNPR's Survivor Stories.