I haven't written about our journey with cancer for a while because my wife's own journey has been one of the ongoing tedium of Tamoxifen ... another day, another pill... and more fatigue, joint pain and so many more issues. It is, though, unfortunately our "new normal" ... and will be for at least two more years of Tamoxifen. We just try to keep on going through it...
But in truth, it's been a rough period of time for us since I last wrote in July 2014 in regard to cancer around us.
- A brother-in-law was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and fought it extremely hard but in the end the cancer won.
- A woman in my wife's breast cancer support group who received treatment at the same time as my wife had her cancer return... but in the terrible way of breast cancer the cancer came back as stage 4 lung cancer. It "metastasized", in medical speak. Things do not look good.
- Most recently, the partner of a friend was diagnosed a few months back with renal cancer (kidneys) and after fighting it with chemo, radiation and more... he is now being moved into hospice care as there is nothing more that can be done. It is now only a matter of time before he passes on.
All of this happening around the time of the four-year anniversary of my wife's own diagnosis.
This last one in particular struck me hard because just back in November I had lunch with my friend and her partner... and he was so alive and seemingly healthy. He seemed like a great guy and they seemed great together. And now only a few months later their world is turned so incredibly upside-down.
So very hard to comprehend.
All "younger" people in their 30s, 40s and 50s.
No easy answers.
All we can do is, as my friend wrote, "hug your families extra tight tonight".
An audio commentary is also available:
Image credit: a photo of Arlington National Cemetery by Todd Van Hoosear on Flickr
