A life Changing Disease

What comes to mind when you hear the word cancer? For me a year ago the word cancer meant a disease that takes over certain parts of the body and I knew involved chemotherapy and other drug treatments. Now if I were asked to define cancer I would say it meant family, helping, caring, and dedication. Cancer is ever evolving and changes from time to time with it’s constant improvements in medication, prevention, and it’s research for cures. Cancer is a word that takes on an entire different meaning when a loved one is affected by the disease. It’s a word that truly doesn’t affect a person the same until they themselves are going through the process or they are involved with a loved one battling cancer.

I will never forget the day that cancer went from just being a word to becoming reality. Knowing that my mother had been experiencing a few mild symptoms and went in for a routine procedure, I anxiously waited by the phone for her call. The call I received was not what I was expecting; she had told me to find my brother and come over immediately. Pulling into the driveway, seeing all the cars of my entire family out front, my heart sank into my stomach and the tears began to flow as I looked over at my brother sitting so calmly, I realized he had no idea what we were about to find out. Walking up the endless sidewalk and ringing the doorbell it felt like eternity before my mother finally answered the door and without saying a word her tear filled eyes told the story. It was that exact moment that the word cancer changed my life and will ever affect it.

Cancer is every other week of chemotherapy, its routine visits to the doctors, it’s surgeries, it’s medications for pain, nausea, sleeping and anxiety, and it’s trying to cope with everyday life. Hearing the word cancer now I never think about the medical definition of abnormal cells multiplying throughout the body; I think of my mother.

Being in the fourth and final stage of cancer means the cancer has taken over one part of the body and has metasisized to another. For my mother and my family it meant fighting harder, staying positive and not loosing sight of the main goal of attacking
the cancer.

Cancer is a word that affects one person physically, but affects everyone around mentally. People come from all around to share their stories and give their support. Cancer brings people together within in the family and outside the family. Cancer unites complete strangers that may have the disease in common and will forever remain friends because of it. It’s a life changing event that even when it goes away, people’s lives will remain affected by it. Cancer is something that a person will always fear and try their best to prevent it, but sometimes it is unavoidable. It is a disease that comes to anyone without a purpose or a cure. It brings forth a challenge to try and fight it or to give up and let it win. Either way it is a disease that requires love, support, and encouragement to stay on top.

A year has passed and my mother is still fighting and winning the battle.She is successful because of her strong will to live, her positive attitude, and her love for her children. My mother knows that she is too young and to important to give up and for that she will pull through. We have been lucky, for everything has gone as planned and the chemotherapy has not made her sick. Fortunately for us cancer does not mean life threatening disease; it means just another bump in the road on the road of life. Cancer for my mom means not working; valuing her time with loved ones, keeping a daily routine and staying healthy. For me it means switching roles with my mother, where instead of her I have become the caregiver in the relationship. I am the one that always
worries and checks up on her. Cancer will always be reality and will always be in the back of my mind. I can’t wait for the day when we can put this experience behind us, but the word cancer will always be around.

Cancer affects people in several ways depending on aspects in their lives; whether they are young or old. Location of cancer and what stage it is in can play a huge role on the process to remission. No matter how cancer is viewed it remains a life struggle and a life mystery on where it comes from. Cancer is a word that when asked to define will take on many definitions depending on who is asked: a doctor, a patient, a teacher, a student, or a friend; it all depends on how cancer has impacted their lives.

It is truly a life changing disease that every family needs to be prepared for because it may never happen or it may be the result of that next trip to the doctor’s office. Nobody wants to think about it or talk about it, but it is important because talking
is part of the healing process. Cancer will always remain in my life, since it has changed it forever, and I will never forget about my experience with it and what it has meant to me.