#MotivationMonday - Katina Bryan

Meet Katina Bryan, a ?? year old woman from Milan, Italy by way of St. Mary's County, MD. (My Mother told me never to reveal a woman's age!!) A very high spirited and loving Mother, Daughter and Sister, you would never catch her without a smile on her face. Not even in 2003 when she was diagnosed with Stage 2 Lymphoma and Breast Cancer. As devastating as the news was, Katina made the vow to continue her life as planned and kick Cancer's ass! With an 11 year old daughter at the time, Katina refused to show weakness. She refused for her daughter to see her give up. She refused to allow Cancer to take her from her family. Refuse to be defeated is exactly what she did as she became Cancer free in December, 2004! Once Cancer free, the Doctor asked Katina what is she going to do? She must have thought she just won the Super Bowl because she threw her wig away and said,"I'm going to Disney World!!" Katina and her daughter then took off on a week long Disney adventure.

"I beat Cancer, it didn't beat me!" Is what she said when asked to sum up her experience fighting Cancer. Sometimes it just that simple, "I beat it!" Katina stated that her life hadn't changed at all during the process because," I didn't let Cancer consume my life! I live life to the fullest and will continue to count my blessings and thank the Lord above for bringing me through such a trying time!!!" 

Katina also said," The best advice I can give is to pay attention to your body! When there are signs that something isn't right...LISTEN! Learn to do self exams at home and schedule a mammogram." 
Katina is living proof that early detection can and will save a life. It's also a testament to how maintaining a positive outlook on life regardless of what you are faced with can do wonders. If Katina's story has motivated you to smile today, send her a smile back via Twitter or Instagram. Share this with someone who could use uplifting today and have a blessed and motivating day yourself!

#MotivationMonday - Will "Chill" Johnson

Meet William Johnson, a well known 20 year old who calls Clinton, MD home. William excelled in basketball and baseball at Largo and Surrattsville High Schools respectively, which landed him at Division I Coppin State University to play for long tenured Coach Fang Mitchell's basketball program. After his Freshman year, William decided to transfer schools for a better opportunity to pursue his dreams of being a professional basketball player. What William didn't know is that he had Rectal Cancer. Somehow this did not effect his work ethic, as you could find him putting up jumpers all night at Stephen Decatur Rec Center. It did not effect his abilities as he began his Sophomore season at highly ranked PGCC as the team's starting point guard. It wasn't until February 15, 2013 at 2:18 pm. that William and his family found out that he was infected at stage four. At the point where William was supposed to be crushed, he stamped himself a Cancer Crusher and stated," This is just a minor set back for a major come up!"

Immediately after, William proved that he wasn't going to be defeated by leaving to hospital to join his team for their conference tournament game. Since then, William has made it impossible for anyone to feel sorry for him, because of his high spirits and positive approach to the recovery process. William has been the motivation for everyone around him to join him on his journey to be great! He is the inspiration behind our Cancer Awareness shirt campaign. Not wanting to be represented by just his color ribbon, he asked if we could create some things that better fit his swag. With no hesitation, we began to make Cancer Awareness into a fashion statement. Shirts that stand out for the "strong" message it portrays and in popular color schemes that match the releases of today's trendy shoes. Surprisingly, this did not just catch on with the younger generation, but with the older crowd too. William's mission was to make people express how they really feel about the situation as it will get the attention of more people. Because of this movement, more young people have gone to get checked out and have become vocal on social networks to help increase awareness.  

When asked to give advice to the world about prevention and early detection, William said,"Get tested regardless of your family history. Pay attention to your bathroom cycle and if you're taking extra trips consistently, see a doctor." 

William is still battling and currently winning the fight as Chemotherapy has removed a few tumors! Today marks the five month point of diagnosis and William is still active and walking around with a smile on his face, waiting for that moment when doctors tell him that he is Cancer free and can be "back to ballin" (Wale voice)

If William's story has motivated you this morning, Follow him and let him know via Twitter!  (@ImChilliam) We hope that you enjoyed reading this as much as we did writing it. All of the shirts pictured can be ordered from our website. If the design you want isn't on the website, send a request to us via email and a special order will be made for you.  Subscribe and tune in every Monday as we will highlight a current Cancer Crusher or a Cancer Survivor to uplift the beginning of the work week. If you would like to be featured or would like to nominate someone, email your contact information to: FutureoftheRetro@gmail.com. 

Have a blessed and motivated day!