THE DEADLY BIG "C"

For years I participated in the Relay for Life walk/run. In Shelby, NC we'd all gather at the fairgrounds and camp out overnight. In the evening there would be a band to entertain us and various people would step up to the mic and share their cancer stories. Every year one or more of those people would say, "there's not one person here who hasn't been touched by cancer in some way, whether it's yourself or a family member." At this point I always felt like an outsider,a sham...because cancer HADN'T touched me or anyone close to me in anyway. I was there to support friends and friend of friends...but I personally didn't have a clue how truly devastating cancer could be to the victim and to their loved ones.

Then 2001 arrived. My stepfather was suddenly diagnosed with lung cancer and six months later he died. I was horrified at how quickly the disease destroyed and murdered. My stepdad was already in Stage 4 when they discovered the cancer, so he really didn't have a chance of survival.

After he passed I again entered into a safe little cocoon where cancer wasn't touching my life. But a part of me had changed. A part of me was now much more aware of the horrors of this disease. When acquaintances would speak about family members suffering I was able to empathize on a whole new level.

Now 2010 has arrived and I find myself once again faced with a family member's cancer diagnosis. This time it is one of my brothers. He had surgery yesterday for what was thought to be simple nodules on his lungs, but hiding behind one of those growths was the insidious cancer. Thank God he agreed to have this initial surgery or the cancer might not have been discovered till it was way too late. He was waivering on going under the knife, because it meant they had to remove the top half of his lung. When they discovered the cancer they removed several lymph-nodes too, in order to see if the cancer has spread.

So, for now I sit and wait on those results and pray that they got to him in time. I'm hating the fact that I've become an official member of the "cancer has touched my life club". I just pray at the next Relay for Life event I'll be able to rejoice because I have a family member who's a cancer SURVIVOR!