My name is Joe Esparza and I’m a cancer survivor twice!

My first bout with cancer was in the spring of 1985.  I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Stage 1.  I had a staging laparotomy which means they cut your stomach open to expose the lymph glands to make sure that it had not traveled to the stomach.  Then a very intense 5 days a week for four months of radiation therapy.  By the beginning of the fourth month, I was pretty crispy! (Laugh)

My second bout with cancer came in the summer of 1995 when I had applied for life insurance.  They took my blood there at my home and called me back with very disturbing news.  I needed to go see my doctor.  I was diagnosed with 4^th stage bone marrow cancer.  One month prior to that I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, easy to say I was going through a lot!  I went through chemo therapy once every two weeks for 5 and ½ months and the doctor gave me a 30% cure ratio depending on how well my body would take to this treatment.  My wife and children were there 100% to care for me hand and foot and took care of all my needs.

I am still challenged every day with Parkinson’s among many other things.  I don’t let the past get in the way of my future and I don’t let these issues I face on a daily basis come between me going to work, playing with my grandkids, and going out dancing with my wife!  She is an awesome dancer and it’s hard to keep up but I try. (Laugh)  I have lost a brother to colon cancer and while my father was dying of pancreatic cancer I was just starting my chemo therapy for my 4^th state bone marrow cancer.  I can’t express how important it is to stay positive and focused on wanting to beat this disease.  My father told me before he died, “stay positive and you will prevail” and I am living proof of my father’s comment!

Thank you.