Riding the White Line
A struggle to keep life in balance when health, job and business were taken away
by
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So I lay there with my “friend” exposed while she left the room. About 5 minutes later she returned with another technician and proceeded to go through the entire “clicky – clicky” thing with the mouse again. After about another 5 minutes they both excused themselves and said they would be right back. So another 5 minutes goes by, and the door opens and now there are 3 technicians coming in the door (all female)! They walked in, closed the door and started staring at the screen, then back at me, and then to the screen again. It appeared to me there was an equipment malfunction, but I wasn’t sure yet exactly what was going on. I didn’t know if they were really impressed or what! I also wasn’t sure if I should be embarrassed or not, as there were 3 women staring at my exposed part with great concentration. Eventually they got what they wanted done on the equipment, told me that I was done and I could put my pants back on and leave. My ever growing ego aside – there actually was only an equipment malfunction, and they wanted to make sure they got the pictures right so that I wouldn’t have to come back for the same test. Again, I look at this as just another test, as another piece of the armor that helps me keep cancer in check, never to return. If I didn’t look at these tests as a necessity, and react to them with humor, it would just make this ordeal that much harder. I think too many men (and some women) look at the tests as a huge inconvenience, or they worry about them much more than they should. What most of us don’t realize is that the tests are for the most part nothing compared to the treatments that follow if you don’t get checked on a regular basis. I would gladly take a hundred ultrasounds, x-rays, CT scans, blood draws and urine samples instead of even one chemo-therapy regimen. It’s too bad that many of us look at the tests and doctor’s visits as a horrible thing to endure. Unfortunately, there are people who ignore symptoms, postpone visits, thereby prolonging the inevitable. Many people are unaware of the fact that most cancers are very, very treatable if detected in their early stages. Not only are they more treatable with much higher cure rates, but the treatments are in many cases less invasive and traumatic to the body.
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About the Book
Riding the White line is a symbol of life and how we live it. When I ride my bike on many of the back roads around my upstate NY town I follow the white fog line that marks the right hand side of the road. It is the white line that keeps me on the right path. If I stray too far to the left I endanger myself by riding in the travel lane, if I stray too far to the right, I run the risk of riding into the shoulder and crashing and getting a serious case of road rash. To lead a “normal” life is similar to riding the “white line”. When you stray off course bad things can happen to you. Riding the White line helps me to stay focused and on course. Things go wrong when your life is out of balance – just like when you stop riding the white line.
What follows in this book are my thoughts and experiences during a life-changing, tumultuous part of my life. It follows the period in 1995 when I decided to start my own Internet Company, the merger and acquisition of other companies, my first cancer scare, the fall and ultimate demise of my foray into the business world, losing my job, and finally my battle with my cancer recurrence. Mix in a new house, teenagers, and world events like September 11, 2001 and it made for a wild ride.
About the Author
Jeffrey Wood was born and raised in Jeff graduated from In 1999 Jeff was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer. Surgery removed the tumor and Jeff was in a state of remission until May of 2001 when his cancer returned. Four cycles of chemotherapy, extensive surgery, and 5 years of surveillance has left Jeff optimistic that he is cured of this devastating disease. In 2002 Jeff and his brother Steve (also a testicular cancer survivor), co-founded North Country Against Cancer. NCAC is an organization that is dedicated to the education, awareness, prevention and treatment of cancer in Upstate New York. Jeff and Steve provide awareness programs and inspirational talks to many organizations, students and civic groups. Their signature fund-raising event is the SpokerRide for Life – a 50 mile bike race in When not speaking or working or writing, Jeff can be found on the streets of communities throughout the