We live in very interesting times. I remember when I was young and people got cancer....they died. It was the way things were. We accepted the fact that to get a diagnoses of cancer was a death knell. For some it still is and I am saddened each time I hear of someone who has died from this illness. The reality though today is different. Cancer is still a very serious and often terminal illness. BUT, there are more people living with cancer today than was true 20 years ago.
When I say living with, I do not mean cured. I mean living with cancer, some constantly, some intermittently, some having been diagnosed and never knowing when it will rear its ugly head again. Most cancers cannot be cured, they can only be treated and stabilized, but not cured. Very few cancers have been found to be curable. I personally do not even see the day in my mind where Ovarian Cancer can be cured. My prayer is that there will be some magically scientific discovery about how to detect it early enough that it won't be as deadly. If OVCA is discovered early (which in most cases it isn't) it is 95% treatable with a positive prognosis. Notice I avoid using the word cure. To cure something in my mind means that it is gone forever, never to return. I have yet to meet any medical professional worth their salt who believes that is true with most cancers let alone OVCA. But, I digress!
What I was thinking about today is how many of us are actually living with this disease day in and day out. Not only that but we are doing so in almost total anonymity, if we choose. Often, I find out someone else has been diagnosed with cancer only after I have admitted to it myself. Then the person says "oh I had ....cancer 2 years ago, five years ago, 20 years ago, whatever. Another member of the club. We are a group of people who continue to live, function, and enjoy life in the midst of this terrible disease. In some ways I think that is a success and a win over cancer. It hasn't forced us to abandon our lives. There are some changes and for some they are major, but we still do the things 'normal' people do too. Today, I did my yard work, visited with friends, cleaned the house, walked the dog. To a stranger I am just another person going about a 'normal' life. To me, I am still expected to carry on and do the things necessary to life. I am not dead yet, so I keep on trucking!
It was good to think these things today. It made me feel good about myself and where I am today. I still hate cancer, still don't see it as a blessing, but I felt that in many ways I had won the battle, at least for today. Winning one day at a time is all that we can hope for. Recognizing that we have done that gives us hope for the next day,and the day after that. So here's to another day of normal chores tomorrow ....God willing! I laugh at you cancer....haahahaha...look at me I have to cut the grass, take the garbage out....I laugh at you cancer, you can't stop me from doing all these yukky chores.....hahahahah, I still have to clean the house, walk the dog, clean up her sh.... hahahaha
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