My Cancer Came Back. Here's What I'm Doing About It

After 12 years on targeted cancer therapies, these miracle drugs have finally stopped working for me. My cancer has returned.

So what's next?

The dreaded chemotherapy.

I never thought it would come to this.

But I have no intention of merely surviving. My goal is to thrive. The two principles that guide me may not come from the mouths of most oncologists, but I sincerely hope they can help anyone else facing this disease.

1. Don't Treat Prognoses as Prophecies

After my most recent recurrence, my oncologist told me that I probably have between two and five years left to live.

Hearing those words immediately reminded me of a story told by the late Rabbi Yitzchak Wallerstein, Rav Zecharia Wallerstein’s father.

After being diagnosed with cancer, Rabbi Wallerstein's doctor told him he had approximately two years to live.

Rabbi Wallerstein responded, "You mean you know for a fact that I'll still be alive in two years?"

The doctor replied confidently, "Yes."

Rabbi Wallerstein smiled and said, "You must be a prophet. Nobody in the world can guarantee that I'll be alive in two years. That's amazing."

His point was simple: doctors are not prophets.

Doctors do the best they can with the information available to them. Their predictions are based on statistics, studies, and previous experience. But as every investor knows, past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Medical science is advancing at breathtaking speed. When my father died in the early 1980s, CT scans were still relatively new. When my mother passed away in 2009, the targeted therapies available were only a fraction of what exists today. Now doctors can sequence a tumor's genome and identify the exact mutation driving a cancer.

Who knows what breakthroughs will emerge in the next year, let alone the next five?

As long as science keeps advancing, hope remains alive.

2. Bring Joy to Other People

There is a saying from the musical Annie: "You're never fully dressed without a smile."

I have come to believe that joy is more than a pleasant emotion. It is a powerful force.

When people receive a serious diagnosis, it is easy to become consumed by fear, anxiety, and despair. Those emotions are understandable. But I believe there is another path.

Bring joy to yourself. Then bring joy to others.

For me, joy can be found in the smallest things. Sometimes it's a bag of Spicy Doritos. Sometimes it's making comfort food—chicken pot pie, cheesy salmon tacos, or anything else that makes me smile.

But the greatest joy comes from sharing it.

Host a meal. Teach a class. Call a friend. Help someone in need. Make another person's day a little brighter.

Joy has a way of multiplying. Every act of kindness creates a spark that can ignite another spark.

There is a teaching that God loves those who love His children. What greater gift can we give the world than bringing joy to another human being?

Even in moments of uncertainty, serving others gives us purpose. It keeps our minds focused on life instead of fear. It reminds us that we still have something valuable to contribute.

I don't know how long I have left. None of us do.

But I do know this: hope is real, joy is contagious, and every day we are given is an opportunity to make someone else's life a little better.

That's how I intend to fight this battle.