It's a given that when I have driving time, I also have thinking time. Sure, I have the tunes playing almost non-stop (the good part of having satellite radio), but during my extended drive time, I ponder.
Today being Easter, well.....
2 years ago, a different kind of Easter, for it was the weekend following my first round of chemo treatment #2 and I was on the "no out of town" driving restrictions. I stayed put and enjoyed the company of some friends here in town.
This year (and last year), a "normal" Easter.
Even though I was raised in the Christian tradition, sometimes I struggle with the church's message on the whole Easter thing. Seems there is a lot of focus on the Crucifixion (as evidenced by the presence of crosses in Christian sanctuaries) and the sacrifice made through the act. I've heard the message of "Since Jesus conquered death, we no longer have to fear death. That's the gift of the Resurrection."
Really? Is that all there is to it?
Here I sit, no signs of cancerous activity in my body. So...I no longer have to fear cancer, or the potential of a relapse? There is the possibility that 3-1/2 years from now, I will be considered "cured" if there are no more signs of cancer in my body between now and then (technically, I would be cured of the Non Hodgkins "alien," but if a secondary cancer occurred, I would not be considered cured of all cancer).
However if you think I am saying that once I am cured of the "alien" I would no longer have to fear the "alien" and that would be the official end of my cancer experience, your thoughts are not necessarily where I am heading with this.
Once I experienced the "alien" and its impact on me, and also interacted with others experiencing their own "aliens," I learned that those of us in the cancer community (that would include you, even if you've never been diagnosed with it - the fact that you are reading this, makes you part of the community), not only can work to find a cure, but we can also work to make the lives of cancer patients better while they travel through their cancer journeys. Those of us who know you can LIVE through a cancer experience can deliver that hope and experience to others who are struggling. In my conversations with other patients, I never promise them that they will be cleared or cured of cancer. What I do promise them is that there are people in their lives, and people who will enter the lives, who will want to show them how and why to live.
To close, thought I'd resurrect this from a previous post:
"Drinking life
That's the thing
Makes a man want to suddenly sing
Sing and dance
And perchance
Seeing life from a different stance
When you learn how to live it
Life is free of strife
That is why I like life!
That's the secret of living" - Leslie Bricusse
