On A Mission

Recently, on this blog and on Facebook (and in real life, too), I’ve made mention of a big project I’m working on with Dr. Lenz. This project is, quite simply, the most ambitious and rewarding thing I have ever done in my life. Given my history of doing ambitious and rewarding things, that’s saying something. I am about to embark on something that, when successful, will change a lot of things. Maybe the world. Actually, yes. It will change the world.

In a spiritual sense, the work that Dr. Lenz and I are doing, which will bear fruit early next year when we launch our project, has made my life’s purpose crystal clear. And this work has shown me that my life and all of its circumstances all make sense: my education and career prior to my diagnosis…the severe and improbable diagnosis I received at the way-too-young-for-this age of 28…the incredible, miraculous way I’ve found a way to not only survive but thrive since that diagnosis. It all makes sense.

In many ways, I feel compelled to take on this work not only because of my current status as an in-treatment, not-in-remission, you’re-going-to-do-chemo-for-the-forseeable-future-with-no-end-in-sight-so-you’d-better-get-used-to-it cancer warrior, but for my friends. For all of my friends who battle this disease and aren’t in the physical shape that I’m in to take on a project of this magnitude. For my friends who struggle physically. For my friends who are afraid sometimes. For my cancer warrior friends who have more courage and grit in their pinky fingers than most people have in their entire bodies. And for my friends who have died, too. They inspire me on this mission.

And Dr. Lenz inspires me. He may be my doctor, one of my best friends, my partner in crime, and one of my favorite people in the world, but let’s make no bones about it: he is one of the foremost colon cancer experts in the world. His reputation precedes him worldwide. He is a brilliant clinician and oncologist. And within him, there is a fire much like mine. He is passionate, endlessly smart, and focused. I simply could not ask for a better teammate in this project, in the business of saving my life, and in the business of life in general. Dr. Lenz is special, and having him by my side has enriched my life more than I can say.

And so, the mission…the project itself. I can’t unveil the contours of what we’re doing just yet, but I can tell you that we’ll publicly launch our campaign in February of 2013. And I can tell you that if you send me your email address, either through comments to this blog post or by emailing me at glo@wunderglo.com, I can share some more details with you in the next month or so.

 One more thing. It’s an important “one more thing.”

The success of our project’s launch depends on a few things, and among them is building a bit of a nest egg for The WunderGlo Foundation. The Foundation will be sending out some end-of-year solicitation emails, I’ll be running a fun Facebook fundraising campaign starting tomorrow (December 1), and I’ll be doing everything I can to raise enough money to ensure that this project gets off to the start that it deserves. And I’m asking you, dear readers, to help in any way you can. You can make an online donation at www.wunderglofoundation.org/donate or you can mail a check (made out to The WunderGlo Foundation) to 3260 Bennett Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90068. You may not know exactly what the project is, but you know me, and I know you believe in me.

I’m on a mission, and I won’t stop until I’ve seen it through.