More Cancer

It seems at least once a year I know someone who gets cancer. Some years it's more than that, but minimum it's once a year. This year it's been more, and yesterday we got the news that someone close to us has been diagnosed. Later this month we'll hear back about that person's bone scan, so we'll know more about the severity.

This familiar and frustrating waiting has me feeling very helpless. We live far from the family, so we can't make meals or visit or anything of that sort. I'm almost afraid to start a prayer shawl since the last person I knit one for didn't make it.

Of course I've started researching this type of cancer and actually know a lot about it since a couple years ago another person close to us had the same type (and is in remission). I find that the more I know, the more I'm able to deal with the bad news and figure out ways to help out.

Getting the news so close to the holidays is hard for me, though I'm sure much harder for others involved. For selfish me, this is the first year in 9 years of marriage that we aren't spending Thanksgiving with extended family. This year has been filled with change, so it would be nice to be grounded again at a big family dinner. We'll be up with family during December, so I'll just have to wait until then.

My heart and prayers go out to this family and others dealing with cancer. And to the researchers trying to cure this awful disease.