Introduction

Hey, I'm Mike Cohen, and I'm alive and kickin'. Kicking hard. Some take that statement for granted but for me its surprising, its surprising that it's almost the end of 2008. It's surprising that it's been almost five years since I was diagnosed with A.L.L. (Cancer of the bone marrow). I was 18 years old at the time, and living as anyone else about to enter college... I was just having fun.

Following my diagnosis, I dealt with chemotherapy treatments, bone marrow biopsies and spinal taps. In the

 middle of my treatments and procedures, I went to the Emergency Room for a routine checkup... it turned out that I had pneumonia, congestive heart failure and pulmonary embolism, all due to complications with my chemotherapy.  As if chemo

wasn't enough, I had to deal with these side effects, but it was my mission to overcome such adversities. 

At the end of my chemotherapy treatments, I decided to continue my goal of going to college. I decided to move from the East Coast (New York) to the other side of the country. I figured that since I was able to breathe and walk, why not move to a place where i dreamed of living my entire life? Going against what my family and doctors advised, I wanted to start over and create a new and cancer-free life. Why should I let my past experiences with cancer stop my dreams? I didn't let it, cancer had controlled my life for long enough. 

So now looking back, I realize how lucky and how hard I worked to be here today. I decided to share my story with anyone who might be interested, and even more importantly, any of you who have experienced or are experiencing a similar burden.