Just the very word cancer, is not a word anyone wants to hear spoken. Whether it's from the mouth of a friend who heard about another friend, from the mouth of a family member about that family member or another family member, from the mouth of a doctor about you. They say it's always harder on the caregiver of the person with it, than it is on the person who has it. I never believed that to be true until it was spoken to me...by a doctor.
The person with it sets themselves on a mission to get through it as quickly as possible. My mantra was, "the faster I run, the quicker I'm done". They get busy about this business. While the people watching can't do much but support that person in whatever ways they see fit. But even harder on the side lines, is to watch that person struggle mentally, physically and yes even spiritually.
Many interesting thoughts, ideas, understandings and acceptances occur in your mind from the moment there is a suspicion that you might have cancer. Once you have it, you have it.
For now, I have no reason to believe that there are any active cancer cells living within me. But once you do, it's something that will always be a part of you. I have had many experiences living through the cancer journey that, despite all the reading I did to prepare for whatever was coming next on the journey, I never found written about. And yet, these experiences were significant enough to me that I decided to put it them writing.
