I am saddened to report the passing of a true hero in the young adult cancer community. Allan Goldberg, executive director for First Descents, passed away on Sunday, June 22, 2008 at the age of 40. This man was truly an inspiration to many young adult cancer survivors as he himself was a cancer survior twice over. Some of you may or may not know that I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a First Descents camp last year. First Descents is an outdoor adventure program for young adult cancer survivors, age 18-39. It is the only camp of its kind that uses nature and adventure sports to show us that we're not broken and we can still live life! Camp was a turning point for me last year, as not only was I challenging my limits more than I had in my entire life, I was doing it just six months after chemo and radition treatments. It changed my perspective on what being a cancer survivor is, and I have Allan to thank for that. In September, I had an opportunity to spend some time with Allan at the Cure Magazine Survivor's Forum where FD and Planet Cancer sponsored a Young Adult Track. He asked me to speak about FD from a camper's perspective, and even razzed me for learning my Eskimo roll quicker than he did. He will be truly missed.
I relayed the information to other campers that we went to camp with. Ilana, who has become a dear friend, called me and we cried together. It's events like this that throw us back into that world and remind us that we are not invincible. At the same time, they remind us that life is short and you never know it's outcome...so live life to its fullest.
“In the big game, you can lose with a full house and win with a pair of threes… you just never know.” - Allan Goldberg
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