smokers?

“PedXing, It's great that your feeling so well and odds are you won't see your cancer again.
I'm sure there are others that have Fanconi Anemia and don't know it. There's probably not a lot, but definitely some. Anyone who gets bone marrow failure at a young age should be tested, but most doctor's don't know anything about the disease so they don't test for it.
Also glad you didn't have to have radiation since it's worse than surgery in many ways.”

“RichB and Pedxing, you guys are an inspiration to anyone who feels too weak to backpack. I'm sorry that I complained about my aches in earlier threads. I'm going to try to toughen up and make that first backpacking trip soon (alone......maybe). Thank you for sharing your stories.”

“LyndyS, Thanks for the kind words.
Hopefully you can get to go on your first hike soon while the weather is still mild. Maybe you won't have to go out solo unless you want to. You might consider joining a hiking club if there's one in your area and go on a trip with some members.
Backpacking after cancer is rewarding. It's really like starting all over again. I appreciate everything more and the hope that I would be able to do it again kept gave me something to reach for when I was in the hospital. When I had leukemia I struggled to walk up my basement stairs and knew I only had a few months left to live if this transplant didn't work. I really never thought I would get to backpack again. It's so great to back out on the trail. Everyday I feel good, I'm out there.”

“Rich... I can only imagine how wonderful it was for you to be out. Even after my much smaller ordeal and my lesser uncertainty, being up in Franconia ridge sweating and feeling my body carry me was a wonder and a joy/”

“Doesn't it feel great being able to go out a do things you thought you might not get to do again? I'll bet you did a lot of thinking when you went on your first trip after treatment. I know I did and still do. I appreciate every day and look at things in a much different perspective now. Any problems that someone has is really trival compared to health problems. People that have their health have everything and many times don't realize it.”

“I'm a smoker and have no trouble on the trail. I don't however smoke as much, so I guess that helps. Smoking is a way of life that people who don't smoke will never understand. So don't try to!”