To help or to hide….
We all handle a cancer diagnosis differently. Do we share in this experience or do we keep our doors closed and make it a private affair?
Leroy made the choice to share his daily life while living with cancer because he truly believed he could help others who were going through the ups and downs of the disease. His blog not only talked about treatment and care but how he felt his life was impacted after his diagnosis.
His was a public account of a terminal diagnosis and it was open and honest and at times, even heartbreaking.
Then there are those who don’t talk about their cancer. If they’re lucky enough to survive their disease, that’s when they sometimes step out of the shadows to make a difference.
I’ve met so many cancer survivors at the Kimmel Cancer Center who have taken their experience and turned it into a crusade to help others. Some help other patients who are currently going through treatment. Who better to take the hand of a patient than some one who has walked that path?
Other survivors raise money for research. They have an appreciation for all the hard work that went into the time spent at the lab bench: the work ultimately turning into new and aggressive treatments that may have saved their lives. Fundraising is the way they give back.
And sometimes it’s left to the care givers to give back. We walk, we run, we swim, and we ride bikes to fund raise. We talk to newly appointed caregivers who never expected to become care givers in the first place, just so they know we were in that spot once too.
What we have here is another piece of the complicated world of cancer; Always challenging who we were, who we are and who we’ll become.
March 1, 2015 @ 8:18 am
Each person must decide for themselves how to deal with cancer. I don’t think that there is a correct answer to the question. I chose to “pay it forward” because so many had helped me by their efforts of compassion that they understood and that I was not alone. When Leroy came along with his very vocal approach to helping and sharing, he established for me a benchmark to strive for. He not only provided information and insight but used humor to reduce our fear of the very scary place of cancer-land. The Mighty Oak’s light still shines in my mind’s eye so I continue to try to support, encourage, pray for, educate, inform and to use the humorous events I’ve encountered in my journey to lessen their fear.
There may not be a right way to deal with cancer but at the top of the very short list is Leroy’s approach……open his heart and soul for all to see and hear. And….may I add…Laurie’s approach also.
Laurie….I know so well the caregiver’s efforts, feelings, fears, anger, and hopes. When Leroy began his blog, we did not know you. Now that we do and have known you for many years, I submit that beside the Mighty Oak was another OAK standing there to do what needed to be done and when it needed to be done selflessly. Your efforts now show that the legacy established many years ago still lives and continues to help all who are in need. God bless,
March 2, 2015 @ 6:28 pm
Al,
YOU are such a treasure.