Margaret Wente wrote a charming article in the Globe & Mail on the subject of breast cancer. More to the point, on fighting, conquering and surviving cancer. I have already made my opinions known on this topic, and this article only confirms me in what I wrote.
Breast Cancer is a very physical presentation of cancer. It is vivid and devastating. Most other forms, including mine are well hidden. I got dressed in regular (as opposed to my sick) clothes on the weekend. Nobody can really tell that there is anything wrong, let alone how dire things are.
Raising money for Breast Cancer by whatever means, only increases the attention that is paid to all forms of cancer. While reading on this, it appears to me that the “cures” for want of a better word, for cancer are many and not one. The cures will apply to all sorts of cancer and will not be limited to only one. Eating fresh organic fruits and vegetables, reducing the amount of red meat that we consume, help reduce the risk of all cancers, not just one or two brands.
Thank you for a delightful article, Ms. Wente.
dear farokh, i just read the whole thing, from beginning to end, and do you know what most amazes me? the number of wonderful caring people you have made a connection with in your life. almost every entry is full of the names of friends, the expressions of caring, the gatherings with you somewhere close to the center. this is a mark of how pleasurable it is to be around you, whether you are healthy or sick. though i feel for you, and your descriptions of all that you are going through are so vivid and intense as to make it easy to 're-live' them, i can't help feeling a tiny bit of envy, for the rich and full and glorious network you have. were i in your physical situation, i know i would not be in your social situation. i would have to be miserable all by myself.
and thank you for blogging. it is a recognition that more than idle curiousity makes people want to know what's going on. after all we are all made of the same stuff, and none of us knows much about how any of it works. so i read it all as an explorer's journal, except that the mysterious territory you are exploring is where we all live.
i didn't know when i started reading, (until i got to the blog on 'comments') that you read the comments first and then decided whether to post or not, otherwise i might have commented all along, as i was reading. but now that i know, i won't be inhibited, i'll know i'm only talking to you.
as i understand it, tomorrow is a chemo day. now i know what that involves; i figured it was bad anyway, but in that amorphous terrifying way, and now i know it in concrete specific ways, it makes it smaller.
has your hair really fallen out, your beautiful curly hair? i need to see you, as i can't bring your face to mind without the hair. well, i hope to see you sometime next week. i am not sick at all, but hans is. he is not living at home though, so i hope that is not a problem. i look forward to a walk to get the newspaper, and reading it with you. that is on of the small pleasures i enjoy inordinately, so i hope that works out for us.
thank you again farokh, for putting your experiences into words. love, gita
Good luck tomorrow, and sleep well tonight. Thinking of you my dear.