To beat cancer is to defy the odds. Denver City Council President Albus Brooks seemed to take that sentiment to heart in his battle with cancer.

Brooks rejoiced on Twitter this week, detailing just how fortunate he is to have been cancer free for one year.

And we agree: Winning a battle with a 15-pound malignant tumor removed from his back, in two surgeries lasting some 20 hours, is worth celebrating.

“Today is a good day. Feeling Blessed to be alive,” Brooks wrote in a separate Twitter post on Wednesday.

Brooks, who represents District 9, found the tumor the size of a cantaloupe in his back in late June 2016 after experiencing stiffness following running the Bolder Boulder race. He was later diagnosed with Chondrosarcoma, a rare form of cancer of the bone.

Brooks has defied the odds at every turn in his fray with cancer. He was released several days early from the hospital following surgery, returned to the helm at the Denver City Council after just four weeks of medical leave and was even snowboarding this January after being told he would never be able to hit the slopes again.

It’s worth noting what Brooks wrote in a social media post following his diagnosis one year ago: “I have learned that cancer does not discriminate, and that no matter how healthy you are this disease can impact your life.”