“ I have learned to be mindful, present and extra, extra in the moment when we are together,” says actor Cameron Mathison, who is grateful to be celebrating his first Father’s Day after his kidney cancer surgery.
Mathison, 50, announced in 2019 that he had been diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma, a type of kidney cancer. For treatment, he underwent a laparoscopic surgery, an operation performed in the abdomen or pelvis, and was declared "cancer-free." Now, he’s celebrating a milestone in his life with his children and wife Vanessa. According to Mathison, they plan on spending some time in the great outdoors.
Read MoreCancer Survivors Making More Memories With Their Family
Like Mathison, many cancer survivors have appreciated life even more after a diagnosis and treatment because making memories have a whole new meaning.
Steve Silverstein was 47 when he was diagnosed with stage four melanoma. Looking back on his diagnosis 15 years later, he says that perspective is so important during cancer. Perspective means different things for different people. For Steve, it meant his family, and his two teenage daughters. At the time of his diagnosis, Steve says that the temptation to not even bother with treatment was definitely there. However, he did bother, and now he sits as a chairman at the Melanoma Research Foundation and he got to watch both of his daughters get married this year.
“The first person I told was my wife,” Silverstein says. “My wife, my children, my sister who is a dermatologist, these were all terribly challenging discussions to have.Over time, I found being open and honest and candid and keeping people informed. My daughters were 13 and 16 years old at the time. I’m thrilled to say that last year both girls got married and we attended both those weddings.”
Steve Silverstein battled through stage 4 melanoma and got to see both of his children get married
While Silverstein got to see both of his children grow up, testicular cancer survivor Todd Rosenbluth experienced a whole new addition to his family. Testicular cancer is not supposed to affect fertility at least that's what Todd's doctors kept telling him. However, when he and his wife began trying to have a baby, and running into issues, he couldn't help but feel responsible.
Now, Rosenbluth and his wife are spending time with their newborn son Milo, and Rosenbluth says Milo’s birth was the safest he’d ever felt since his cancer diagnosis. “ I probably never even told anyone this, the safest I felt with my testicular cancer was when my son was born,” Rosenbluth says. “On March 4th, my son Milo was born. He’s 9 and 1/2 months old, now. It’s kind of a roller coaster life. Finally, in March, we felt like we’re on the way up.”
Testicular cancer survivor Todd Rosenbluth experienced his son’s birth after treatment
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