Ryan Anthony is a former member of the world–renowned Canadian Brass and now the Principal Trumpet of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Dr. A.J. Allen works for a large pharmaceutical company and his specialty is developing and improving drugs for children. I am proud to call both of them friends. They don’t know each other, but they do have one thing in common. Both are survivors of a rare form of cancer called multiple myeloma. Each man is defying the odds and living life in a big way despite their challenges. Ryan has started a foundation and the upcoming musical event known as Cancer Blows is how he is responding to the challenge. As he explains it, when his friends all asked how they could help when he was undergoing chemotherapy, he said “Let’s do a big concert together and we’ll call it cancer blows!” And that’s how it started. You can learn more about it here. An amazing line up of musicians will be on hand to perform, celebrate life, and raise money and awareness for this disease and others like it. If you happen to be at the concert, you can pick up a tube of ChopSaver and make an additional contribution to the cause as all proceeds will go to Ryan’s foundation. Ryan was kind enough to recently endorse the product.
A.J.’s approach to his disease, while not as public, is inspiring in its own way. A.J. is doing things he has always wanted to do and this video from his recent trip to Antarctica is evidence of that. I did not ask him to do a ChopSaver “commercial”, but I do appreciate what he did and you do get a sense of a breathtaking world few of us will ever see. The lesson for all of us is to make something happen in your life whether you have 100 days or 100 years to live. Ryan’s work brings beautiful music to the world. A.J’s passion helps improve the health of children. May both of my friends enjoy long, distinguished careers while making the world a better place
