In the Human Factor, we profile survivors who have overcome the odds. Confronting a life obstacle – injury, illness or other hardship – they tapped their inner strength and found resilience they didn't know they possessed. Richard Dickens wanted to help cancer patients, but he never imagined he'd have to battle disease himself before being able to do so. 

Three words unite all cancer patients: “You have cancer.” These words shock the mind and for many begin a period of denial.

Denial is not a bad word.  As someone once said in a young adult group I attended, “sometimes there is a healthy dose of denial.”

I experienced a healthy dose of denial when I was diagnosed with stage 4 follicular lymphoma at 37.  Before my diagnosis, I had just received my acceptance to attend graduate school to study social work. I was an avid athlete and a competitive marathon runner. I felt I was at the peak of good health.

Then one morning, when I lifted my arm and saw a swollen lymph node, I knew it was serious.  Walking numbly through weeks of tests and appointments with several doctors at different hospitals, I learned my prognosis.  The good news was that my cancer responded to chemotherapy, but the bad news was that it was terminal.  I asked a nurse and doctor how long I had to live; they told me I had maybe 10 years.
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