measi's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cancer My last entry really was the kneejerk reaction to the forums this morning. I managed to get four people to come over to see what was so funny. Apparently my co-workers seem to know that I tend to have the funniest email forwards, thanks to Erich and crew. :) But in all seriousness, it's not the happiest of times, particularly for one person I know. LGM called last night and let me know that the fears they'd suspected last week are true. His dad has lung cancer. And they believe it's spread to multiple areas of his body. Apparently he's not doing too well. Not on his deathbed, but definitely not doing well. The overpanic from well-meaning but slightly hysterical family members sent LGM and his siblings into a bit of a tailspin yesterday, under the impression that his dad was going to die any minute and all of them needed to get down there. Thankfully, that's not the case, but just to give a better, calmer view on the situation, LGM's sister is heading down there sometime this week. It's hopefully given LGM some piece of mind, if only for just a few minutes. I was even more sad because as he's telling me this, my thoughts were going toward how worried I am about my mom. She went in for a mammogram yesterday morning because her doctor found a lump. Mom told me that if I didn't hear from her, things were fine. But like her, I'm still worried. I know the family history. My grandmother has had stage four ovarian cancer-- and is still alive. Both of my grandmother's sisters died of breast cancer. My mom has had fibroids for the better part of her life. She needs a hysterectomy, but keeps putting it off. She can't anymore-- one of the fibroids now blocks the view of her ovary on an ultrasound. My grandma is battling bladder cancer now, and they found spots on her lungs, but I don't know what has come of those. But it was an inappropriate time for me to voice those worries with LGM. They came up simply because of the immediacy to my own fears, but to mention them would have easily come across as a "yeah, you're in the same boat as the rest of us," which he didn't need, and I didn't intend to give him. Last night, he needed me to listen, to try to rein his fears in, and give him some long-distance consolation. He's worried that his dad won't live until his parents' 50th anniversary in April. He knows (and I don't doubt) that his mother, who rarely comments about her deep desires and excitements, is eagerly awaiting that day. And although LGM tends to see the glass as three-quarters empty -- even if it's only half-empty -- I can sympathize where he's coming from on this. His dad probably doesn't have long to live. But weird shit happens with cancer. Things go into remission, or the victim finds something to help them rally and beat the odds. The best thing he can do is just be there for his dad. Lend some emotional support, and when he's visiting in Florida, lend some physical support as well. 12:22 p.m. - 15 January 2003 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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