Today my wife has only two radiation treatments left. Her cancer is officially in remission. Radiation is no walk in the park. It has not been easy. We've had some tough times. But it's unlike chemo in that it didn't take her hair. It didn't leave her sick for a week or more at a time. And it's almost over. But to me, the unspoken thought that comes to mind when you hear the word "remission" is that remission may not last forever. We can take comfort in the statistics that indicate it's highly unlikely that the cancer will come back. But to me, the fight against cancer is only beginning. We both have a long fight ahead of us. I read a statistic that said that I personally have a coin flip's chance to get cancer myself. We're going try to do everything we can to "live strong"-- fight cancer, raise money to fight it, live a healthy life style, exercise, educate ourselves. It's already taken too much from us. We can never forget. And we will never forgive. Cancer.
I went with Tracy to the Midwest Cancer clinic on Monday. We were disappointed to learn that she could not get Herceptin because of the decreased function of her heart. That's a serious deal in itself when you're talking about the heart, nothing to be messed with. But everyone expects her to bounce back in three weeks and be able to receive treatment again. And the thing is, we both realized from the people around us that we're lucky to be where we're at in her treatment.
I'll share one story that I heard while I was in a waiting room Monday. Three people were sharing their cancer story with each other when one man said, "You know, you can work hard your whole life. Pay off the house. Get your kids through college. Retire. And then when you're ready to live the good life, you get cancer." He later said that he was 56 when he was diagnosed and from the sound of things, his prognosis is not good.
They shared their philosophies with each other on how they deal with cancer. One lady, said her husband was diagnosed when he was 65, simply said, "we don't let it bother us", explaining that they try to have as many good days as they can.
One woman shared the story of how she finally convinced her husband to go to the hospital after she finally would not take "I'm fine" as an answer as she watched her husband struggle with pain.
The whole experience made me sad. But it also made me a little angry. It just re-energizes me as we continue our fight against cancer. My feeling is captured in the Livestrong video that is posted above. I will not forget what cancer did and what it's doing to my wife and I. I will not forget what it's done to others that I've met. There's a resolve there. We've got to find a cure.
This summer's Relay for Life event is this Friday. It will be held at Haymarket Park on Friday night, starting at 7 pm and lasting until 7 am Saturday morning. Each team will have its members take turns walking the track. At least one member from each team must be walking. I'm excited about it. We've been fund raising for this event for quite a while. And now that the week of the relay is here, it's finally set in that I'll have to stay up all night long! I haven't done that since studying for a college final at Wesleyan. But the point of it is sleeplessness and fatique is something that cancer patients routinely endure. It's fitting that the relay has the format that it does.
