Eric Gutierrez
As a junior in college at age 21, I always thought the toughest challenge I'd face was whether I had enough time to brush my teeth before an 8AM Friday Digital Comm Systems class. I remember waking up on a Saturday morning with a piercing pain in my lower right abdomen and knew something wasn't right. It took me a week before I realized I had a problem and went to the doctor. Orchiectomy and 3 rounds of BEP and I was back in the game in 4 months or so. I did have to push back school a year but I learned so much during the time of my treatment - who my real friends were, some people you never really talked to who really cared (a.k.a. new friends!), and how much my parents were willing to risk to take care of their son who was already an "adult" (yea, right!). At the time I was diagnosed, I don't think I had a genuine view of my personal and professional plans at all and now I know what I want to do, where I want to be, but I also make sure I know that work is just work, and what may be a "problem" really isn't a big deal. The world keeps turning and I've realized how awesome it is to be able to wake up next to a loved one every morning! I have reached the 4 year mark in remission and I'm looking forward to the big 5-year F* cancer celebration party!
I hope to use the TCAF Ambassadors program as a tool to educate others while also offering support and advice to those going through what I did. I feel that a lot of guys can resonate with what we went through and its also something that always gets some laughs (which is a great thing!).