Rob Henslin is an award-winning graphic designer and marketing communications professional. In 1989, early in his professional career and just six months after marrying his young bride, Rob was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. The dreams they shared for a life together were suddenly and forever changed. Rob underwent treatment at City of Hope National Medical Center in Southern Califor
nia, and by 1993 had completed the treatment regimen. He and his wife moved forward, having fought hard and beaten the cancer. They were blessed with two miracle daughters, born two years apart—children they were told they would most likely not be able to have due to the intensive chemotherapy treatments. They bought a home in the San Francisco Bay Area, and raised their daughters. Rob was thankful to be alive, and to have been blessed with the gift of restored health and a wonderful family. Would it ever wake up? Could he live his life without looking over his shoulder? Then one day in late October of 2008, the cancer monkey awoke from its nearly twenty-year slumber. For a second time Rob's world and the lives of his wife and two daughters was turned upside down. Within just a few days of receiving the dreadful news that his leukemia had returned, Rob was admitted to the hospital to begin treatment. He would need a bone marrow transplant to have any chance of long-term survival. Rob knew his fight for life the second time around would be even more difficult. He endured the hospitalizations and treatment, and his leukemia was brought back into remission in late 2008. In February of 2009 he received a bone marrow transplant at Stanford Hospital. Since then, he has walked a difficult road to recovery, full of transplant-related complications and other harsh realities. His first memoir, “But I Was in Such a Good Mood This Morning” recounts this journey. It was released as a trade paperback in December 2011. As Rob walked the path of recovery following his bone marrow transplant, his marriage of more than two decades began to crumble under his feet, ultimately ending in a painful divorce. He faced an uncertain future, and needed to find a way through the fog that seemed to envelope his life. His second release, “When You See the Cows, Make a Left!” chronicles the path Rob—and his German shepherd Sam—chose in a search to find greener pastures on the other side of the tragedies he had endured. The book was released in November of 2014. Both books offer encouragement, information, comic relief, inspiration, and hope. They’re available in paperback and Kindle eBook at Amazon.com. Since receiving his transplant, Rob is passionate about finding ways to “pay it forward” and encourage fellow cancer warriors, and others facing life’s most difficult challenges. His self-published books are written in pursuit of that goal. Rob has worked as a Volunteer Ambassador for BeTheMatch national bone marrow registry (marrow.org), and shared his story through magazine articles, radio interviews, and speaking engagements. Rob lives in Northern California.
