The first time, that I remember, hearing of anyone having cancer was my Grandad in the 70's. When I went over to the UK for a holiday and to visit with my family, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and undergoing treatment. I was just 18 and it didn't really mean much to me then....and I wonder if it was because in those days there weren't as many people suffering from a cancer of some kind. It wasn't given the coverage then that it is today. He survived and passed away June 1984, exactly a month after Matthew was born, his first great grandchild.
My Granny also had cancer, breast cancer, first diagnosed before my Grandad passed away. She had a breast removed which was for her a huge thing and not the kind of thing that people talk about today.
Both my Granny and Grandad were beautiful people...I loved spending time with them growing up in the early years of my life and I wish I had been able to be around them more. They taught me so much about life and it was my Granny who first started talking to me about Jesus...not that I really understood then, but I do now. I remember them fondly when I think back to my childhood and the things I did when I was with them.
My Granny and Grandad on holiday somewhere...
A friend who is so close to our family that she has called herself Johan's 'sister', was diagnosed with a melonoma when she was still pregnant with her third child. She had it cut out, went through treatment and survived both a pregnancy and cancer. I remember her telling us when her 5 years in remission were over, what a joyous and wonderful time that was. Today her son is 23, born 2 weeks before NiQi, they are very close friends.
Some years passed before I had my next encounters with cancer...2 people in our lives who affected me profoundly. One was our neighbour who was diagnosed with colon cancer, was given 6 weeks to live, came home from hospital, sorted out her personal life and passed away...just like that. So quick, so sudden, so sad. The second person was the wife of one of Johan's best friends, still fairly young, her children still in school...she went through chemotherapy and radiation, twice, and sadly lost her battle just a few months before Mark passed away. Both of these ladies taught me what it is to put other people before yourself, what it is to be strong and how to fight even when the odds are against you. Like my grandparents I don't ever forget these lovely people, I can't they were too involved in our lives to ever do that.
In more recent years I know of another two very dear people who have fought the fight of cancer, and one still is. The husband of one of my dearest dearest friends was diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer a few years ago. When I heard I cried all day. He became a reason to pray harder and more diligently. I didn't just pray for him, but every day, if I hadn't prayed I felt I was failing him and my friend. I believe so fiercely in the power of prayer and the will of God and happily he is a miracle survivor..How awed I am that he is around to spend time with his family and more importantly that my friend has her husband to share many more years with. The second dear friend is someone who is just a bubble of life, who is vibrant and positive, strong and brave...she is someone I can count on to help me in my spiritual path. She is still going through her struggle...it has been a long and painful journey and it isn't over yet. But then again neither is her life...if anyone has the will to survive it is she and with my prayers firmly in her corner for survival I continue to pray every day.
Cancer is terrible, no doubts about it and it takes a strong person to undergo the treatment that is needed to survive. I take my hat off to them all...they deserve a medal for all they endure....
Suzanne, that was such a beautiful, heartfelt post.... it's true, cancer causes such sadness in our lives.
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