Happy New Year Ray Zahab!

Ray Zahab is a Canadian explorer, ultra distance runner and Founder of non-profit impossible2Possible.

Here is a message of hope, resilience, and inspiration from Ray following his cancer diagnosis in 2022:

One year ago this week I got a confirmed diagnosis of a rare form of the blood cancer, lymphoma. There are many directions or paths that my life could have taken after that moment, but I chose a path of looking forward, not back.

A road without stop signs, where I would plan an adventure and live to my maximum, in between chemotherapy treatments over the course of 6 months – and now, one year later I’m stronger than EVER, physically, mentally and emotionally.

There’s no cure, and no doubt this will someday come back, but I’m honestly not concerned or thinking about that at all!

I mean it.

I’m too busy living like I used to, at full throttle, with stoke levels at max!

My focus these days is on how I feel increasingly healthy, so much stronger than I have in years, and that I have many expeditions and projects planned ahead.

When Kath and I were last in to see my amazing Doc for recent bloodwork, he remarked how he thought it was crazy I was able to get all the expeditions and adventures done the past few years with the condition my blood was in – I laughed and said I was fueled heavily on Advil and coffee. But the truth is, I refused to give in, even though I had no idea what was going on.

Last year, I was chronically exhausted, unable to train sequential days, napping constantly and sometimes passed out for hours, with constant brain fog and loss of appetite and generally lacking any energy at all.

Now, and I say this with complete certainty- I’m fitter than when I ran across the Sahara, trekked to the South Pole, or any of my other dozens of past adventures.

I find myself with the energy to simultaneously work on several projects including my next book, i2P youth expeditions and a television pilot with my buddies.

It’s funny how our perspectives can change in life.

I find myself looking at this week ahead as my new, New Years.

And as I look down the road into this new ‘anniversary’ year ahead, I remind myself this journey I’ve been on isn’t that much different than so many others I’ve had. There are and always will be challenges. But I remind myself – the greatest challenges we face are 90 percent mental, the other 10 percent is all in our heads.

For more information, visit https://www.rayzahab.com/