This fall has been quite an eventful time for me in my life. August 7th, I married my wonderful wife Noël. We were married on the top of this beautiful mountain overlooking the Willamette Valley, in Brownsville, Oregon at the Sanctuary at Washburn Heights (http://www.sanctuaryatwashburnheights.com). Spent a beautiful vacation at Pismo Beach, California and got the best tan/burn that I've had in a long time. Everything was looking up and up! I didn't think anything could bring us down; but life has a way of throwing curve balls at us. Tests and trials to test or strengths, our will, and our character.

On this October 15th, exactly 2 months and 2 weeks after we were wed, I was diagnosed with colon cancer. I had been having some stomach pain for a few months, nothing I couldn't handle, but definitely something that was starting to concern me. I had talked to my primary physician a few weeks before, and he had got me setup with a gastrointestinal specialist for my colonoscopy. Right after the exam he was 100% positive that I had cancer. He took a biopsy to confirm and set me up with a surgeon to get it removed.

November 8th I went in for a colitis sigmoid resection, where my most awesome surgeon Dr. Kris Ferry removed 6-7 inches of my large intestine (thank you Dr. Ferry!!). My lymph-nodes came back clear, and no spread to surrounding tissue, but it does look like I'll probably have to do at least a few sessions of chemotherapy just to make sure that there's no microscopic tumors that may be lingering.

I was in the McKenzie-Willamette Hospital for 7 days where the doctors and staff were extremely helpful, friendly and made my stay as comfortable as it could possibly be. I'm now recovering at home, managing pain and waiting for my next appointment where I'll find out what the next steps will be. I'm not looking forward to chemo, but if that's what has to happen to give me a second chance, then that's what I'll have to do.

Through all of this ordeal, friends, family and colleagues have helped make this experience so much more manageable. Another thing that has made it more manageable is the technology that has helped me be healthy, to communicate and to get my mind off of pain and stress. It amazes me all the advances in medicine that was applied to my situation. From the assisted larthoscopic resection procedure, where only a few small incisions were made to get into my abdomen, to the epidural anesthesia that managed my pain after surgery, technology made everything so much easier to deal with.

I had never had surgery before, so I was pretty nervous about the whole situation. I went in, and they prepped me with the epidural, and oxygen mask. I think there was more in that mask because I only remember about 1-2 minutes after I had that mask on and was being wheeled into the operating room. 3 hours later, I was awake and my beautiful new wife was by my side. I don't recall much pain at that point. Seriously, if they ever offer you an epidural for any abdominal procedure, TAKE IT! My pain was literally at a 0 the whole time I was hooked up to it. There was a few times when I would try to get up that I could feel the incisions. I was wide awake and fully aware only a few hours after surgery. I guess with morphine, you're a little more out of it, and not able to walk as soon, so I am thankful for the epidural, I just wish I could have taken it home!

Communicating while I was in the hospital was very easy with such tools as Facebook and email right at my hand with my phone or the iPad my supervisor dropped off as a get well gift from the company (my 9-5 employer is seriously amazing, an iPad as a get well gift?! They rock!!). I was able to login to my Facebook account, update all my family and friends on my status and keep everyone up to date on my progress with a few taps on my phone or iPad through out the day. The few people that don't keep up on Facebook daily (like my parents and a few of my siblings) I would do the direct phone call to make sure they were up to speed, but social sites and email really helped ease the stress of contacting everyone that was concerned.

The iPad really did come in handy to help me just keep from getting cabin fever as well. The hospital had complimentary WiFi access, so I was able to down load app's, watch a movie here and there, keep up on my YouTube subscriptions and try to pass the time as best I could. My wife was able to stay with me the whole time I was in the hospital (she's amazing by the way) and she had our laptop with her. I don't think I even touched it once while I was in there. It's a small laptop, but it was not something that I could easily manage with the IV's in my arm, and the limited mobility in the bed. Once I had the iPad though, I was online quite often. The size and the ease of use really made the difference when I wanted to surf the web, or communicate with the outside world. I would highly suggest if you had an iPad or tablet, and are expecting a long hospital stay to have your loved ones bring it for you. It made a huge difference in my outlook and to curb the feelings of being cooped up in that hospital room.

Now that I'm home, I'm trying to get back to normal life. I take my walks and try to be active, but there's still a lot of down time sitting either on the couch or in bed. My wife had bought me the Apple TV before going in for surgery knowing that I'd be incapacitated for a while after I came home. We only subscribe to basic cable channels so having the direct access to Netflix, Youtube, and being able to rent from iTunes is super convenient for me now that she's back at work, and I'm home by myself.

Now that I'm a cancer survivor, I'm just very thankful for everyone that has supported Noël and I through this speed-bump so early in our marriage. It has made me know how lucky I am to have such wonderful people in our lives. I do worry about finances because the medical bills are going to be coming soon and being newlyweds it'll put us behind on our plans, and I know we'll do what we need to to get by. This whole experience has brought her and I closer together and given me a new outlook on many things in life. I'm thankful to god for each day, and just do what I can each day to make it the best I can. Again, many thanks to everyone!

If you've been diagnosed with cancer, or know someone who has, please take a look at a few of the links I have provided below:

• Gateway for Cancer Research Site (Donate to Research)
• Willamette Valley Cancer Institute and Research Center
• American Cancer Society Site (Donate to Research)