7%

Everyone knows cancer sucks. Believe it or not, you probably don’t even have to look too hard before realizing you’re likely within 3 degrees of separation from someone who’s life was almost claimed by it or worse, didn’t survive. The funny thing is, unless it happens to you, no matter how empathetic you think you are, you just can’t begin to comprehend the severity of everything surrounding this disease. I have it, and I can’t even begin to comprehend the most brutal cases of cancer.

Lisa Gardino may be some 5' 3 1/2" tall, but she is one of the most larger than life women I have ever met. Lisa, a.k.a. ‘Mama Lisa,’ is my older brother’s wife’s mother, who quickly took me under her wing as I transitioned from high school to college. I was raised in an incredibly loving family, with parents who would do anything for me. Lisa is far from my own blood, and yet she gives nothing short of the love my own family does. Rest assure, I were to introduce you to her, she’d treat you with the exact amount of love.

What is perhaps the most incredible thing about this woman, is her complete inability to let adversity get in the way of living a purely elated life, not even death itself.

Nearly 20 years ago, this wonderful human being was diagnosed with Leukemia.

“They said I had a 7% chance of living!” - Lisa tells me with a giant smile on her face.

“I said ‘Great! Let’s get started on the chemo then.’ The Doctor sat there with a big ol’ blank stare, maybe blinked a couple of times.”

-“Mrs. Gardino, I’m sorry, did you hear what I said?”

“Yup! I can work with 7%. Why it's much better than say 3% or even 5%. So, what’s next??”

By comparison, my cancer is a zit on cancer’s face! I was told what I have is 96% curable, and I couldn't keep together for a second. I was a mammoth in ice, a giant, once so full of life now frozen forever. My brain couldn’t even begin to ponder the thought of relaying the bad news to any of my loved ones.

“I remember taking Chris and Shauna out to the yard and sitting with them on our hammock” - Lisa continues.

“I said - ‘listen kids, the doctors are going to say a lot of things. Some things that you hear may sound very scary, but you don’t have to worry because your mom is not going anywhere.’”

Parents say a lot of things to spare their children any pain, but if a 7% chance of life is enough to look your kids in the eyes and say with absolute certainty that you are not going anywhere, you’re either in on a secret, or there’s simply not much else life can throw at you that’ll so much as dent your day.

“I got to know my doctors pretty well. Used to love it when they came to visit because I got to joke with them all the time! But my favorite thing - I haven’t told you my favorite thing…” - Lisa explains as if about to reveal Area 51’s biggest secret - “I LOVED losing all my hair! See, my siblings and I have bipolar hair, I couldn’t wait to not have to deal with it!!”

I’ll be the first to say, I’m a big fan of doing my hair to make me look real dapper, but it sure can be a pain in the ass after a while, and I must admit, the prospect of waking up every day and not having to worry about what’s on my head is quite enticing. @ Patrick Stewart, can you confirm?

Lisa’s chemo lasted 5 months. Each day, promising 7% of making it to the next. Until that one day 7 turned into 8, and 8 into 10, 10 to 20, 20 to 50…

When she was told she had a 7% chance to live, she heard “a 100% chance to see my children have children.”

If you were told you had a 100% chance to live so long you’d meet your grandchildren, I doubt you’d be able to live with even 7% the amount of life with which Lisa survived cancer.