On October 1, 1996, Lance Armstrong was listed as one of the world's top cyclists. He has won the World Cycling Championship. He has won the U.S. National Road Race Championship at the farthest distance in the history of championship racing. And he had just signed a contract to support the prestigious French racing team for two years for a fee of 2.5 million dollars.
On October 2, he was a cancer patient. At the beginning of the week, he vomited a lot of blood, and found that the swelling of the orange balls. A visit to the doctor revealed the presence of testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain. When emergency surgery was scheduled immediately, doctor who gave consultation on Lance said that the chance of success is 50% - but later admitted that the chance of life, is just 3%.
But Lance is never give up. Raised only by a hardworking mother in suburban Texas town, he learned cycling since hr was young, racing triathlons at age 15, and won medals and prize money fairly quickly. Cycling 20 miles a day and exercise pool, the route to the exit for Lance. "Maybe if I ride my bike on the road far enough," he thought, "it would get me out of here."
Lance is known as racers persistent and never give up, properties inherited from her mother. Her mother never once found he was exhausted and almost stopped at the end of a triathlon race. "My son," she said, "you can not stop ... even if you have to walk." Lance finish the race, to the finish line.
For Lance, cancer is a race - but this time it was against the clock. Lance faced his illness the same as when he was racing his bike. He underwent surgery to remove the tumor and then chemotherapy for months. For the first time ever there was a bike rider - the highest aerobic capacity in research labs across the country - the bones become weak, unable even just cycled around the house.
But when the disease was physically weaken, these trials actually strengthen spiritually. Chemotherapy is completed and miraculously he was free of cancer, he slowly returned to practice and realize that cancer has given him an unexpected gift: a sense of love on the new bike feels. Previously, the bike for him only "tool to achieve the goal ... to achieve a potential source of wealth and popularity." Now the bike became a symbol of the spell after suffering from cancer, "If I was still able to move, it means I'm not sick."
Even more surprising, the cancer get rid of things that inhibit Lance is overweight. Lance used to be known as a great racer one day but not that great in a stage race, a race that lasted several days and weeks that requires the ability to climb the mountainous area to score a world class racer. He only had one finish the Tour de France, withdrew because of fatigue and accidents in other years. The coach and his friend reminded him that the weight is too heavy for the steep incline. With a strong body, Lance believes it can push his self up to the top, ignore the burden that must be carried.
But after recovering from cancer, his body weight to 58.5 kg, 6.3 kg lighter than its original weight when racing. And when he climbed a workout track in the Blue Ridge Mountains - and continues to climb - he sensed something had changed. Finally he was ready to become the world's best racer - in every race, in every field, in every condition.
This awareness brought to the Tour de France 1999. In the early time trials, he won the Nobel Maillot jaune, the yellow shirts worn by the leading rider. Although the clothes move on the other drivers in the race, he was soon able to get it back when the race becomes harder near the Alps, where he failed before. As the race reached its most severe - up the hill through the cold rain - Lance drove, with a time lag leading 2 minutes 20 seconds to 6 minutes 3 seconds.
When other racers reached the finish line in Paris, Lance rode with the leading time is undoubtedly 7 minutes 37 seconds. He reached the finish line with another victory: his wife became pregnant through in vitro fertilization after the cancer makes it fertile.
Lance won the Tour de France again in 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003, but he wrote: "The fact is, if you ask me to choose between winning the Tour de France or cancer, I would choose cancer ... because of what he has given to me as a human being, man, husband, son, and father. "When fighting cancer, he defeated the greatest enemy of life: failure. He declined to estimate that he will not be healed because he has hope. He has the confidence - the courage, the future, on their own - beat doubt.
Lance summarizes it very well: "I know now why people fear cancer. Because the cancer was slow and deadly: it is the true definition of cynicism and loss of spirit. "
"So, I believe."
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