A few days ago we received some information from the foundation of Lance Armstrong. I know a lot of you may have it already but there are always some who don’t and I’d like to print the manifesto from that organization.

THE MANIFESTO OF THE LANCE ARMSTRONG FOUNDATION

We believe in life.
Your life.
We believe in living every minute of it with every ounce of your being.
And that you must not let cancer take control of it.
We believe in energy: channeled and fierce.
We believe in focus: getting smart and living strong.
Unity is strength. Knowledge is power. Attitude is everything.
This is the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

We kick in the moment you’re diagnosed.
We help you accept the tears. Acknowledge the rage.
We believe in your right to live without pain.
We believe in information. Not pity.
And in straight, open talk about cancer.
With husbands, wives and partners. With kids, friends and neighbors.
And the people you live with, work with, cry and laugh with.
This is no time to pull punches.
You’re in the fight of your life.

We’re about the hard stuff.
Like finding the nerve to ask for a second opinion.
And a third, or a fourth, if that’s what it takes.
We’re about getting smart about clinical trials.
And if it comes to it, being in control of how your life ends.
It’s your life. You will have it your way.

We’re about the practical stuff.
Planning for surviving. Banking your sperm. Preserving your fertility.
Organizing your finances. Dealing with hospitals, specialists, insurance companies and employers.
It’s knowing your rights.
It’s your life.
Take no prisoners.

We’re about the fight.
We’re your champion on Capitol Hill. Your advocate with the healthcare system. Your sponsor in the research labs.
And we know the fight never ends.
Cancer may leave your body, but it never leaves your life.
This is the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Founded and inspired by one of the toughest cancer survivors on the planet.

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Most of us have to make our fight outside of the Lance Armstrong Foundation but that manifesto has a lot of power in it that fits hand and glove for us all. We know people with cancer, we may have cancer……we may have cancer before we leave this earth.

It’s a tough fight. You either fight to win……or not at all.

It requires everything in you that wants to live.

God bless Lance Armstrong for going to bat for the ones who can’t fight without him.

Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther