John's Story - in his own words:

I am a cancer survivor. I was diagnosed with bladder cancer at about six months old. I was not expected to survive. I underwent three surgeries including a radical cystectomy - removal of my bladder - as well as full radiation and chemotherapy cycle treatments. This was between 1976-78; medical technology and drug therapies were not as advanced as today, my survival was unique. 

When I went into remission, my ureturs were connected to my bowels. This effectively made me incontinent and also caused some lasting damage to my bowels due to the acidic nature of the urine passing through them over a prolonged period of time. My incontinence also made it impossible to hide my differences from the children I went to school with during my developing years. I endured a significant amount of teasing because of this. 

When I was ten, I chose to have ostomy surgery: this would later prove to be one of the best decisions of my life. I had surgery on January 28, 1986 - which also happened to be the day of the first Space Shuttle disaster. I was in the hospital for four weeks recovering. When I returned to school I had an adjustment period but within one year of surgery I had new energy levels and a taste for sport that had never existed prior. I played rugby and ran cross-country; later in high school I sailed competitively. 

My family moved to a new neighborhood and I changed schools in seventh grade. At this point in my life I chose to hide my differences from the children around me. I was mostly successful at this, but I had very low self-esteem as a result of my experiences in life thus far. Shortly after my ostomy surgery I attended a national camp for children with ostomies and this became an annual opportunity to expose myself and feel accepted. I dreamt of being completely open with my ostomy and medical past until my early twenties and then I discovered the confidence necessary to do so.

My participation in the running community helped me to develop this confidence. I was actively training for marathons in my early twenties and when people I trained with discovered my history, they often exclaimed their admiration for my participation. At this stage of my athletic career I was participating and not competing. When I had run three marathons I decided to look for a new challenge. I chose Ironman. I had been a fan of watching the NBC Network's coverage of the Ironman World Championships for several years and when Peter Reid won it in 1998, I was hooked. 

But my health wouldn't cooperate. I had two very challenging years filled with multiple bowel obstructions and kidney infections that left me with little energy to embark on any serious training plans. By 2002, I had gained enough control of the problems through attention to diet and my emotional wellbeing to enter into my first sprint distance triathlon. When I finished I knew that I would complete Ironman by the time I was thirty.

I have been competitive in the sport of triathlon for three seasons now and have made some remarkable gains in the sport.  I am a strong swimmer in my age group, often in the lead pack going into the first transition. I also have competitive run speed over distance. My biking fitness is fast improving and I am confident that through proper training and time, I will prove to be very competitive within my sport. 

I am proud of my sporting achievements; but I am most proud of the fact that I am a survivor. I have survived cancer; I have survived a difficult childhood; I continue to manage complicated ongoing health issues; most importantly, I live a balanced lifestyle that includes healthy doses of education, sport and community participation. I am a motivated and goal-oriented individual. I want to see my communities grow around me. I want to make a positive contribution to those communities in an effort to effect positive change. The most important lesson I have learned through my life experiences is that I am in charge of my attitude and by making it positive I can achieve any goal I desire; I would love to spread this outlook to everyone I meet. 

You could say I am passionate.