Created: 5/16/2006 5:37:01 PM 
By Deanna Fené First Coast News
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Doctors told him, he only had a year to live; but 12 years later, Jacksonville resident Jim Silba will become a star of sorts. He's a cancer survivor who was given the chance to make his dreams come true, and now he's in hog heaven.
When Silba was 30 years old he was diagnosed with abdominal wall muscle cancer. He wasn't expected to survive. Sibla says, "I had a year to live ten years ago. My mom cried. I said, 'Cry for me when I'm dead because I'm not giving up that easy.'"
It's that same fighting spirit that helped him compete on a reality TV show called, 'Build or Bust.' Sibla says, "I was nervous the whole time I was there."
Silba builds race cars for a living, but had never built a motorcycle until now. On the show, he had less than 30 days to design and build a motorcycle. He says, "This was my chance. I didn't have the money to do it myself and (this way) I could end up with a motorcycle I wanted.'
Once it was built, it had to start, which it did. Silba wanted the motorcycle to be yellow because he is a cancer survivor, but a Harley Davidson is never yellow. Once it was finished, everyone agreed he looked great.
Silba now has a motorcycle of his dreams and an experience he'll never forget.
The show "Build or Bust" airs Tuesday night at 10:00 p.m. on the Speed Channel. It will air again Wednesday at 12:00 a.m., 3:00 a.m., and 10:00 a.m.
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