She’s a very good niece. Her aunt is a lucky woman to have her by her side during this time. She’s fighting a type of ovarian cancer that seems to be playing a cat and mouse game inside her body. The chemo has done it’s job for the most part…there doesn’t seem to be any disease that the doctors can see, but blood tests suggest there might be something lurking, they just can’t see it yet. The patient can’t really take any more chemo or more to the point, her liver is crying “enough already” so there isn’t a lot more the medical side of this fight can do for her.
But her niece is a strong voice that steps in when she needs it the most. She’s a calming force who can help take away the fear, she’s there to make treatment suggestions after listening to what the doctors have to say about the “next step” and she’s the strong shoulder to lean on when emotions take over.
All cancer patients need someone like this to help them in the fight. Cancer patients are just too close to their own situation to make good decisions. They need help listening, because when it’s ‘you’ who is being discussed, ‘you’ can’t begin to hear everything..you can’t begin to absorb everything.
This particular cancer patient turned to her niece the other day, while they were listening to the doctor talk about options and said, “How can you be so clear headed in all of this?” Her niece answered, “Because it’s not my cancer.”
Point made…clear and simple.
October 1, 2011 @ 2:58 pm
My friend J. has been her mother’s strongest advocate since cancer’s return. Earlier this week they went to Johns Hopkins, their last best hope to finding out what, if anything more, could be done; the answer was nothing, and the possible timeline given was two months. J.’s mother died peacefully in the early hours this morning, holding her daughter’s hand. J. made a huge difference to the quality of her mother’s life, right to the end.
October 3, 2011 @ 8:06 pm
I’m so sorry Mo….hugs!
October 1, 2011 @ 8:29 am
She’s absolutely right…no matter how close you are to it, you do not own another person’s cancer. Sometimes I needed a second pair of ears because I was so close to it but for the most part I could be clear and objective in the moment. I would have time to fall apart on another day.