A friend and colleague announced via Facebook and Twitter that he has thyroid cancer.
Larry Cashdollar — an Akamai security researcher I like to call “The Almighty Cashdollar” — was tested a few weeks ago, and I know he’s been worried. Now, at least, he knows what he’s up against.
Mood music:
He wrote:
I have thyroid #cancer. I’ve been waiting for the last week for my biopsy results and the doctor called today.
— Larry W. Cashdollar (@_larry0) February 17, 2014
But he’s going to prevail. Here’s why.
- As cancers go, the thyroid variety is among the most easily beaten. I know quite a few people who had it and, since surgery, have been cancer free.
- Larry is tough. I’ve seen it in his workmanship. This is a guy who continued trying to do security research while lying in a hospital bed with pneumonia.
- He has a good sense of humor. One of the first conversations I had with him was at dinner during last summer’s Black Hat hacker conference. We had a lot of laughs that night, and humor is the greatest weapon we have in a world gone mad.
- He’s prevailed against the tough stuff before. Did I mention he tried to keep working from a hospital bed once? The dude is crazy, and you can’t beat crazy.
- He has a lot of people pulling for him at home and work.
Now that you have an answer, I know you’re going to overcome this in short order, my friend.
I look forward to writing about your security research again. I doubt I’ll be waiting long.
