THE "C" WORD

I have a new LEAST favorite word. Or perhaps it has always been my least favorite word, only I am just now aware of it.

Cancer.

We just found out my father has colon cancer. And there is nothing I can say about it that hasn't already been said. Anyone whose life has been touched by cancer knows it has the power to change all sorts of things. Things you can't even imagine until it happens.

Ironically my father is the Executive Director of Bismarck Cancer Center. So he is pretty much in the best place he could possibly be in terms of treatment. But I don't guess I have to tell you it's a long way from Alabama.

There has been a lot written about the experience of cancer, including this blog. My father is also writing about his experience, and I am grateful for that. I feel very very greedy for his words right now.

The graphic above appears on all the literature for Bismarck Cancer Center. I've always loved the inconquerable hope infused in those words. I guess ultimately that's what it boils down to. Hope. And courage.

"Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

- Margery Williams, THE VELVETEEN RABBIT