A Sick Friend

One of my friends from Florida is very ill and in the hospital. After spending a wonderful winter where she looked fit and healthy with her cancer in remission, it came back. She's gone through so much chemo that it's weakened her to the point where it's landed her in the hospital. I've been told she's refused to continue treatment now and I think she's wise to do that. There comes a time when we need to face the inevitable and refuse treatments that destroy our quality of life.

No-one really knows how they'd react to a dagnosis of cancer but I think we should all make some sort of plans ahead of time. I'm going to be 69 years old next week and my plans might not be the same as they'd be if I was in my 20's or 30's, though.

I've decided, after watching my husband and my son-in-law die of cancer, that I would accept mild radiation and mild chemo pills but never accept chemo intravenously. I understand that those treatments might only extend my life slightly but there would still be a quality of life to the time left to me. My plan is not for everyone but that's what I've chosen for myself if I'm ever diagnosed with cancer.

People who have a strong religious faith should have no fear of dying but little old agnostic me isn't so much fearful as I am curious about what comes next. It just might be a whole lot more fun than our earthly existance.

I have another Florida friend who went through absolute hell with his cancer treatments but they worked for him. I refer to him as our miracle man after all he's been through. He finally received radical surgery in Texas last year after being refused by many other surgeons because of the severity of his cancer and, although he hasn't had an easy recovery, he's still with us and gaining strength every day. I've come to think that beating cancer is just the luck of the draw...some don't make it but some do and that's what gives us hope.

And it gives us hope for my friend who is so ill right now. We can only hope for the best and wait.