08/30/2026
If you're a first responder that keeps pushing through when your body keeps throwing up red flags...this is for you 👇🏼
Imagine being discharged from a major hospital after nearly a week because you were told, “We ruled out all the scary stuff. There’s no cancer.”
Great news, right?
Except two days later, I was told I had cancer.
Yeah. That happened.
This picture was taken months before that diagnosis.
At the time, I thought I was burned out.
I was a first responder. I was tired. I was stressed. Life was busy. There was always another shift, another problem, another reason to just keep moving.
So when I started feeling like something wasn't right, I did what a lot of responders do.
I explained it away.
It's the job.
I'm just exhausted.
I'll feel better eventually.
I just need to push through.
Except I didn't.
I knew something was wrong. My wife knew something was wrong. I kept seeking answers. Hematology eventually got involved and blood work was ordered.
Then I ended up spending almost a week inpatient.
There were clearly abnormal labs. There were things happening with me that weren't normal.
And after all of that, I was discharged and essentially told:
“Good news. We ruled out all the scary stuff. There's no cancer.”
I was sent home without any real explanation or next steps and told to stop the medications and treatments I was doing.
Then, a couple of days later, the blood work that had been sent out came back.
Cancer.
Looking back at this picture now, I don't just think about the diagnosis.
I think about how easily I had convinced myself that what I was experiencing was probably just burnout.
And that's the part I want other responders to pay attention to.
Because this isn't just about cancer.
We have a habit of normalizing deterioration.
We call poor sleep “part of the job.”
We call irritability “burnout.”
We call withdrawing from people “needing some space.”
We call feeling like s**t “just being tired.”
We call losing interest in things “having a rough week.”
And as long as we're still showing up for shift, taking care of patients, answering calls and getting the job done...
we convince ourselves we're fine.
But functioning doesn't mean you're healthy.
And being able to keep going doesn't mean you should.
Sometimes it's your mental health.
Sometimes it's your physical health.
Sometimes it's your relationships.
Sometimes it's all of it.
And sometimes, like in my case, there's something seriously wrong underneath the explanation you've been giving yourself.
So here's the takeaway:
Stop using your ability to function as proof that you're okay.
If something feels different, pay attention.
If someone who knows you well says you've changed, listen.
If you keep telling yourself “I'll deal with it later,” maybe that's exactly why you need to deal with it now.
Get checked.
Ask questions.
Follow up.
Advocate for yourself.
And if you don't have an answer yet, don't assume that means there isn't one.
We spend our careers telling patients not to ignore the warning signs.
Maybe it's time we started taking our own advice.
