The Warrior Within

Imagine being a 13 year old freshman in high school. Now imagine being that same 13 year old and being diagnosed with cancer. My name is Craig Cornish and I am one of those 13 year olds who has battled and emerged victorious. I fought my entire high school life against Hodgkins Lymphoma Stage IV. Even though they classified Hodgkins as a more curable type of cancer, mine was very aggressive and resistant. It started out as a tumor the size of a softball in the middle of my chest, eventually spread into my lungs, and finally into my bone marrow in my hips. In all I have been through 14 rounds of chemo, 3 monthes of radiation, and 2 bone marrow transplants. The first transplant was my own cells since they were not infected, and then I needed a actual donor since my bone marrow became infected next. As of July 5th 2006, I am cancer free and taking the world by storm. I have made it my mission in life to show that cancer does not mean the end of your life, in my case it was just the beginning. Now I am out to prove exactly what survivors can do and I push my limits further and further. From doing Tough Mudder obstacle course races, to triathlons and half marathons, nothing has stopped me. Only recently 3 years ago did I finally get introduced to Rock Climbing and began working at my schools Rock Wall. Once I found out about rock climbing, I finally found something I was actually amazing at surprisingly even after everything I have been through. I excelled very quickly thanks to a great staff working with me teaching me new techniques and helping me soar further than I could imagine. My next achievement goal to cross of the list, a half iron-man. So to all you people there battiling cancer, and for all those supporting survivors and those struggiling with cancer, there is always hope. Just crimp it!