Not Done Yet - Episode 151 - Health, Hope & Inspiration : City of Hope®

Not Done Yet – Episode 151

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Featuring: Tom Sellars

Published: February 16, 2019

Cancer patient Tom Sellars shares with the hosts of Health, Hope & Inspiration an important lesson about not allowing a victim’s mentality to dictate how he saw and how he responded to his cancer journey.

Show Notes:

Tom Sellars had just started a new company when he was diagnosed with head and neck cancer in 2017. His reaction was swift and pointed. “I looked at it and said, ‘Okay, this is a result of how I’ve lived my life, if that’s what it is. This is a result of, this is just what happens.’ I didn’t point blame necessarily. I had a process. And then I had to go from the process, and the process for me was, Okay, this is what it is. What do we have to do to make it go right?’” That’s when Sellars found himself at Cancer Treatment Centers of America and began treatment.

And while his cancer treatments were comparatively short, the real challenges were more emotional and required a period of adjusting to his new normal. “For me, it was seeing what [cancer treatment] was doing to my wife and my family. They wanted to see, ‘Tom’s gonna be okay. Tom lost a lot of weight. Tom got a little weak. Tom got very tired.” So they, of course, are worried. For me, the emotional side of it was, all of a sudden, now I have limitations that I’m not used to.”

In response to the changes, Sellars turned to his faith in God and refused to become a victim. “I said to God, ‘Okay, I know you didn’t do this. What I’m asking for is the same strength that you’ve given me through other parts of my life. And I want to be gracious for the things you’ve put there. And I would like to continue to enjoy them if you see it fit to do that.’”

Quotes:

“We don’t like the idea of giving up control of things. I’m used to not ever being sick, and now I’m sick. And I’m not just a little sick. I’m really sick. I’m used to doing things my way. I have a little company that I run. I’m used to doing that. And then it becomes a matter of, ‘Alright, how do we learn something from this and get through it?’”
“You can’t stand on the mountaintop every day with your cape flowing in the air saying that you’re Faith Man. You’ve had some moments that you had some ebb and flow of difficult days.”
“My faith is and has always been a belief that things happen for reasons. I get that. I don’t blame those things on God or anybody else. I believe that the result and I believe that the ways of being fixed are led by Him.”
“What I learned from [having cancer] is that I will live the rest of my days with the amount of gratitude that a person should have for what they have in their life, good, bad, or otherwise, and the fact that there are things to be thankful for every single morning. And every single morning, I write some of those things down.”

Resources:

CLICK HERE to download this week’s resource: “4 Things Every Cancer Patient Must Do”

Learn More:
CTCA | Chicago, IL
“When Bad Things Happen to Good People”, by Harold S. Kushner