Q&A with John Kerry

This is just one question out of eight in the actual interview. It was the one that I found the most interesting. Enjoy!

Senator John Kerry was diagnosed with prostate cancer while on the presidential campaign trail in 2002. In a recent interview with Coping With Cancer magazine, he speaks candidly about beating cancer, losing an election and advocating for the American people.

CM: What has been the one most difficult challenge you have faced since having cancer? How did you overcome it?

JK: You know, there are a lot of challenges at my age. You lose friends and family to illness and death. And in my case, I lost a pretty close election. The learning gained from getting knocked on my ass in defeat is not my favorite way to gain insight and knowledge, but it is an event in life that sticks with you, I’ll tell you that much. I was forced to confront my shortcomings, figure out what I did wrong, listen, and in defeat, I also was reminded what really mattered to me. As lousy as it felt to lose, life was a hell of a lot harder after November 2, 2004, for the working father who woke up still without healthcare for his kids, for families in New Orleans abandoned on rooftops while the water rose, or for troops in Iraq who got up every day in the middle of a civil war. I felt a really personal obligation not to lay around licking my wounds but to dust myself off and fight for those people.