RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Michael Watkins has much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving -- his family, his job, and especially his life. Despite facing a second cancer diagnosis this year, he is choosing gratitude and faith to guide him through the challenges ahead.

Watkins, an avid skier, describes the slopes as his happy place, a source of joy and even love.

"That's where I met my wife, as I was the running joke of my life-the girls there didn't like me very much," he told ABC11 News.

This year, however, the snowy peaks represent something deeper: hope.

In January, Watkins discovered a tumor and was diagnosed with stage 1 testicular cancer.

"It was instant alarm bells," he said, reflecting on the whirlwind of treatments that followed.

By August, he had completed his treatments and

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