LIVESTRONG BLOG

Matt Gotlin: Why I Ride

Jan 26, 2011 by Guest

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Tuesday, April 7, 2009 began just like any other day. I had a doctor?s appointment at 4pm, but nothing else unusual. The prior fall, I?d experienced what I thought was a groin pull or a hernia. In fact, after 2 ultrasounds (30 days apart), the doctor decided that rest, and Motrin would be the answer. In fact, the pain did go away completely and I never thought about it again. I was back at the urologists office purely as a precaution, just to tie up the loose ends. Or so I thought.

I never suspected this day, April 7, would become one of the most important dates in my life. By 6:00pm I found my world had changed in so many ways that I could not possibly comprehend them all. The doctor had told me I had testicular cancer. He wanted me to have surgery by Friday. ?Survival is 95% plus with testicular cancer.? SURVIVAL? the word didn?t even make sense to me. 35 year old men are supposed to live for another 65 years (well that was my plan at least).

During the drive home I called my wife and knowing she was feeding the kids, I tried to play it cool. But I couldn?t hold it together and she knew something was wrong. Cancer is not something you can keep to yourself. Even for a 20 minute car ride. The support system which suddenly sprang to life was life changing. The emails, the texts, the visits, the friends sitting with me in the hospital ?in my darkest hour they were all with me.

The good news is that on Thursday April 9, I realized my cancer had not spread and I never looked back. Those 2 days of contemplating my mortality were excruciating but the cancer was early, and thanks to a very dedicated and very smart doctor my treatment plan would be easy. The surgery would be followed by 2 rounds of Chemo.

I immediately turned my focus to supporting others with Cancer. LIVESTRONG was an obvious choice. The message and the mission hit home. I set a goal more than a year out to join the 2010 LIVESTRONG Challenge. I wanted to gather a team and raise money to support the cause. And I wanted to ride 100 miles?which was exactly 100 miles further than I?d ever rode before (well maybe 95). I wanted a challenge, and I wanted to help others stricken by cancer.

Last August, with more than 30 friends and family (from 7 months to 87 years old), our team rode, ran and walked in the Philly LIVESTRONG Challenge. We raised more than $44,000. In August 2011, we expect that our team will have more than 50 people (T-Minus Two is our team name if you?d like to join us). We?ll ride for those we?ve lost in the battle- friends, grandparents, parents and siblings. We?ll ride for other survivors. Because someday we hope that no person in the world has to spend 20 minutes on the phone telling his wife he has cancer.

I now count myself among the 28 million people around the world affected by cancer. We are survivors. We live each day to the fullest. We appreciate the now. We take great care to kiss our children, make sure our loved ones know we appreciate them, and make sure our friends know how incredible they are. Somewhere deep in one of his books, Lance Armstrong relays a message someone told him: ?You may not know it now, but we are the lucky ones.? As it turns out, luck was with me. We had a little miracle baby girl in December 2009, conceived in the week in between my diagnosis and my surgery (our third child). By the end of the summer 2009, I understood the quote very well. And for the rest of my life I?ll live this message every day.