If you asked me to name the best day of my life, I would have to give you a list: the day I got married, the births of my boys, admission to Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Super Bowl 42 (Giants win over the undefeated Patriots, helmet-catch, etc.), to name a few.

The worst day of my life is easy: June 2, 2023. It was the day I found out my cancer diagnosis and my life got twisted upside down (hope that’s not a missed reference). The argument here is that every day thereafter has been better. Which is actually quite true. Granted, some days I felt like dog shit because of chemotherapy and my back was in one large knot post-operatively for the better part of autumn but even then, still not as bad as 6/2/23.

Today is 6/2/24. Some people have asked what my plans are for today, the one year anniversary of my diagnosis. Well here it is: I woke up, got my boys ready, made them breakfast. Took my younger son to the playground and soccer. Made lunch. Took the boys to an antique car show in the blistering heat. Ran their laundry. I now write this post as I sit in the car in the parking lot of my son’s OT gym. Later I will prepare my lunch for work tomorrow and pack the boys’ backpacks for school.

Maybe this sounds boring and arduous to you. Maybe you wonder why I am not throwing myself a party. The bottom line is that for me, seeing my own demise and evading it makes me value the little things above all else. Waking up, getting myself out of bed, eating food, smelling flowers, going to work, playing with my kids, even arguing with Sapana while watching TV, is a privilege. All of it is.

If my biggest problems this summer are figuring out which swim outfits make my surgical implants look less obtrusive and taking call on a Sunday so that I can see my gastroenterologist the next day, that is good shit man. Give me more of that.

It becomes increasingly difficult to write posts here without being redundant. I have probably written some of the above at an earlier time. Frankly, I do not have the courage to read my older posts for the sake of literary optimization. One year is a long time, but it was also just a moment ago. I feel so much better in so many ways. I do often believe that cancer changed my life positively in myriad aspects. But I hate that this happened to me. I am deeply traumatized. I am a very reflective person at baseline and I think that going forward this day will be incredibly important for me and all my people. As such, Part 2 of this post will be a list, of lessons learned, of observations made, of hot tips you don’t really want but maybe you will need. Let’s talk again soon.

~Sachin