Earlier this week I received a phone call from Chris, a friend from The Colon Club/Colon Talk. He was calling to tell me that I was one of the lucky few selected to be a 2016 Colondar model. Whoa.

For 10 years The Colondar has shown the world that colorectal cancer CAN happen to you if you’re under 50. Or even 30, for that matter. This year we celebrate the hope that comes from surviving cancer. While innocence may be lost, there is a way to be positive and rise above the challenge.

I was one of those under 30 when I was first diagnosed. Through it I had the support of my family, my friends, and wonderful strangers who gave me everything that needed. I didn’t meet my Colon Club family until well after my first chemos and surgeries, but when I did, I realized that I had found a wonderful bunch and my life has not been the same since. I found in them a group that really understood what I had gone through because they had walked the same steps. We share our experiences with hopes that others will learn from them, and so that we are not so alone because others have gone through the same embarrassing situations.

I am so excited about being one of the few chosen for this. I really am in awe and cannot wait to celebrate life with my fellow warriors.

I think I am still in shock. I am definitely overwhelmed. I am most certainly humbled.