Never stop fighting!
Get up every time you are knocked down.
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"Doing the popular thing is easy; doing the right thing is hard. However, doing the right thing sends a positive message. You can always do more with a smile than with a frown. Fight for a cause that you believe in because it is there that you will find someone who needs your help. Someone is struggling to get back up, and they are waiting for your hand to help them." |
"We need more positivity in this world. We need to learn to lean on each other when we are down and to let others lean on us when we are on top. Life is way too short. Doing the right thing is often hard; doing the popular thing is easy. AwareNow allows us to unite and help others."
Someone is struggling to get back up,
and they are waiting for your hand to help them.
About Michael
From 1988, when I was 18 years old, up until 2017, when I was 47, I smoked an average of 2.5 packs of cigarettes a day. Later that year, I quit that nasty habit and started hitting the gym. My family doctor told me that she was going to have me get screened every year for the next ten years for lung cancer. You see, cancer runs in my family; my oldest sister is a two-time Breast Cancer survivor, my late father survived Prostate Cancer, my paternal grandmother died of Lymphoma Cancer, and my uncle on my father's side died of small-cell carcinoma that started in his lungs and went everywhere. So, I continued to get screened just like my doctor said. I continued to go to the gym and found my new passion, which kept me away from smoking. That new passion was powerlifting. In 2021, at 51, I entered my first Drug-Tested USPA Powerlifting competition in Michigan. I set state records and qualified to attend the Drug-Tested USPA Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2022. While there, I placed second in my age and weight category and qualified for the Drug-Tested IPL North America Championships, held in St. Louis, Missouri. While there, I got first place in my age and weight class and qualified for The Drug-Tested IPL Worlds, which was going to be in October 2023 in Coventry, England. However, my life was about to change!
In January of 2023, I got my yearly scan, just like I have been doing since I quit smoking in 2017. However, this time, they found a mass measuring 6-8mm in the lower lobe of my right lung. They wanted me to get re-scanned in April to see if it had grown. Well, it did! It went from a 6-8mm to an 8mm, and now they wanted to biopsy it. They did just that, got me in right away, and biopsied it. It came back as Small Cell Carcinoma. I had lung cancer, the same cancer my uncle died from. Mine was what they classified as class 2 B. They then ordered some new tests to figure out a game plan. At first, we were thinking of taking out that lobe until they found that the cancer was also in one of my lymph nodes. The only other option was radiation and chemotherapy. This also meant I would not compete on the world stage in October, which I had worked hard for. Instead, I was to fight for my life. And, fight, I did. While going through 33 rounds of radiation, which was a Monday through Friday gig, and going through 12 rounds of chemotherapy, which was three days a week for four months, I never gave up. I continued working, spending time with family and friends, going to the gym, and lifting. However, my cancer doctors did get after me for lifting as much as I was. They called it "stupid weight." They were a little afraid of what would happen to my port if I strained too much. In late August, I was done with all of my treatments and was rescanned in September 2023. It showed nothing! The cancer was gone! (I still get scanned) In November of 2023, my port was taken out, and in December, I could start to lift what my cancer doctor called “stupid weight.” I was now determined to qualify for Drug-Tested IPL Worlds for 2024. But life had one more thing to throw at me!
In January, I ended up getting double lung pneumonia and couldn’t go to the gym, and I had my first competition coming up in Clio, Michigan, in February. Well, fast-forward to February, when I entered that powerlifting competition. I broke nine state records and qualified for the Drug-Tested IPL World Championship, which was held in November 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. While there for Worlds, I became sick. Nothing terrible like cancer again, but I had the flu. So, you guessed it, Worlds didn’t turn out like I hoped. Nevertheless, I continued to work for my goals and never gave up. So, in July of 2025, I went back to Las Vegas and competed in the Drug-Tested IPL National Championships. While there, I broke and now hold the Michigan State Record, as well as three World Records. I got scanned every three months for a year and then every four, and now on to every six, and so far, I am cancer-free. So, what does this mean? I don’t know, other than I will continue to fight.
When I go to the gym and when I am in competitions, I fight not only for myself but for many others like me who have fought or are fighting to win the battle against cancer. I will tell this story to anyone who will listen! I started to put my story in some of my presentations for work. I spoke at the 2024 Michigan Safety Conference and told my story. My dream is to own my own gym someday and help everyone I can!
In January of 2023, I got my yearly scan, just like I have been doing since I quit smoking in 2017. However, this time, they found a mass measuring 6-8mm in the lower lobe of my right lung. They wanted me to get re-scanned in April to see if it had grown. Well, it did! It went from a 6-8mm to an 8mm, and now they wanted to biopsy it. They did just that, got me in right away, and biopsied it. It came back as Small Cell Carcinoma. I had lung cancer, the same cancer my uncle died from. Mine was what they classified as class 2 B. They then ordered some new tests to figure out a game plan. At first, we were thinking of taking out that lobe until they found that the cancer was also in one of my lymph nodes. The only other option was radiation and chemotherapy. This also meant I would not compete on the world stage in October, which I had worked hard for. Instead, I was to fight for my life. And, fight, I did. While going through 33 rounds of radiation, which was a Monday through Friday gig, and going through 12 rounds of chemotherapy, which was three days a week for four months, I never gave up. I continued working, spending time with family and friends, going to the gym, and lifting. However, my cancer doctors did get after me for lifting as much as I was. They called it "stupid weight." They were a little afraid of what would happen to my port if I strained too much. In late August, I was done with all of my treatments and was rescanned in September 2023. It showed nothing! The cancer was gone! (I still get scanned) In November of 2023, my port was taken out, and in December, I could start to lift what my cancer doctor called “stupid weight.” I was now determined to qualify for Drug-Tested IPL Worlds for 2024. But life had one more thing to throw at me!
In January, I ended up getting double lung pneumonia and couldn’t go to the gym, and I had my first competition coming up in Clio, Michigan, in February. Well, fast-forward to February, when I entered that powerlifting competition. I broke nine state records and qualified for the Drug-Tested IPL World Championship, which was held in November 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. While there for Worlds, I became sick. Nothing terrible like cancer again, but I had the flu. So, you guessed it, Worlds didn’t turn out like I hoped. Nevertheless, I continued to work for my goals and never gave up. So, in July of 2025, I went back to Las Vegas and competed in the Drug-Tested IPL National Championships. While there, I broke and now hold the Michigan State Record, as well as three World Records. I got scanned every three months for a year and then every four, and now on to every six, and so far, I am cancer-free. So, what does this mean? I don’t know, other than I will continue to fight.
When I go to the gym and when I am in competitions, I fight not only for myself but for many others like me who have fought or are fighting to win the battle against cancer. I will tell this story to anyone who will listen! I started to put my story in some of my presentations for work. I spoke at the 2024 Michigan Safety Conference and told my story. My dream is to own my own gym someday and help everyone I can!
