Cancer

It’s a word that cuts through all other noise, that stops one story and begins a new page.  It’s the word I was struggling to process this last Wednesday, as Mr. Safek lay drowsy in front of me.  We’d come in for a colonoscopy to explain some symptoms he’d been having and we were leaving with a diagnosis of colon cancer and a schedule full of tests.

And I thanked G-d.

I thanked G-d that we were here, not in Alaska where healthcare was always a little sketchy.  I thanked G-d that we were in a warm supportive community for yet another healthcare adventure.  I thanked G-d that it was colon cancer, not a less treatable form.  I thanked G-d that I am healed from my own spine surgery during the High Holidays.  I thanked G-d that Mr. Safek is healed from his heart surgery last year.

Even in the midst of something as awful as a cancer diagnosis, there is almost always something to thank G-d for, something to be grateful for and it is so much easier to handle what life throws at me if I focus on all the things I have to be grateful for.

Cancer brought Mr. Safek and I together, many years ago, when he reached out to me as I dealt with my brother dying of cancer.  Cancer is now an even bigger part of our story, a new chapter just begun.  We face it as we’ve faced everything else up to this point.

I may be posting here as I need to express myself or absent when his care consumes my days.  I am thankful I have this outlet and place where I can be open and honest.