Guest Author - Lisa Shea

Lance Armstrong is perhaps one of the most famous metastatic cancer survivors in the world. Not only did he vanquish the disease - when he had only a 3% chance of survival - but he went on to win 7 Tour de Frances.

Lance was born on September 18, 1971 in Plano, Texas. He valued athletics from a very young age and by the time he was in high school his cycling abilities were well known. He rode the Tour de France several times in his early 20s, doing well there.

Lance's life changed on October 2, 1996. On this date he was told that not only he had testicular cancer - a hard enough diagnosis for most men to take - but that it had metastatized - or spread through other parts of his body. The testicular cancer cells were now also lodged and growing in his lungs and brain. For a cyclist, these are two of the most important parts of the body to have working properly. For a human being, simply surviving this stage 3 assault would be quite a feat. One of his doctors felt Lance had only a 3% chance of surviving this combination of problems.

Lance, always a man with great faith and hope, did not let the numbers deter him. He did every single thing he possibly could to get better. He chose a very strong method of treatment to give his body the best possible hope for recovery. He pushed himself hard to stay in shape, and to begin training as soon as he could.

Amazingly, only 3 years from that first diagnosis, Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France - one of the most difficult bike races in the entire world. He won against a field of top notch, fully healthy fellow cyclists.

Lance's success should give hope to every other metastatic cancer sufferer, that no matter how grim the outlook might be, there is always hope!