(this blogpost was written by Ryan D. Luelf to introduce the cancer journey)

Please read carefully & please do not jump to conclusions. As you will read below I have in fact been diagnosed preliminary with what will very likely be confirmed in the next 7 days. I have stage 3 Lymphoma Cancer. (*edit: Ryan was officially classified as Stage 4 Cancer due to metastatic cancer and organ involvement.)

The details, facts & back story are documented well by my wife Caroline. Please review her first blog here for more understanding. I want to say a few things to all of you who are reading this.

– Cancer = Change! It’s not a death sentence.
– God is with me & He is crazy in love with me. ❤
– Planet Earth hits us all. God is not planet earth.
– Please do not feel sorry for me. Encourage me & fight the fight with me. I will BEAT this, rest assured.
– Cancer has picked on the wrong dude, that’s for damn sure! 💪🏻
– I am not afraid. I have peace. I am the richest person I know because of all of the incredible friends & family who love me unconditionally & support me in every single way.
– A BLOG has been set up for everyone to stay updated along this journey. This will save us from trying to respond to all the wonderful & thoughtful messages from so many.
– Thanks in advance for being kind, understanding, patient & respectful.
– I started an amazing new job 2 weeks ago with the most awesome company & I’m moving forward with that as a Loan Officer with Cornerstone Home Lending.
– I will continue to live my life. I am not sick. I just have changes to make on the inside. Please do not treat me as a sick person or be afraid of me when you see me in person.
– I will continue to play tennis. 🎾
– I will continue to coach my son Addison in competitive basketball. 🏀
– I will fight tooth and nail by the grace of God, with nutrition & diet change & absolutely no stress. 😴
– I will continue to enjoy pancakes with Caroline often. 😜
– I’ve already made RADICAL changes based on months of research to my diet & lifestyle & in 72 hours I can tell a huge difference. I won’t stop this.

*** Please be cognizant of my children, especially my 9 year old Addison. We will allow the Holy Spirit to lead & guide us on how to communicate this in a way we feel is best for him that does not create fear. Just don’t want him to hear something by total innocence from another kid who just cares, but says something. Don’t want him to be caught off guard!

Last but not least for now until we learn more:
– We will need things. We will need your help. We will need everything from financial support, to continued prayers, to possible baby sitting & possibly more. Thank you in advance for any & all assistance you provide to us during this adventure!

~ Listen, planet earth hits us all at times. I am free. I am loved. I am flawless. Jesus is alive & well in me. I will beat this & live to inspire others. You can count on that. Cancer has picked on the wrong person, I assure you of that! I choose to be public with my journey as that is simply who I am & how I live my life. I understand the risk of that but I also realize the healing that I get from it too.

‪#‎LuelfStrong‬ ‪
~Ryan Luelf