I checked my Facebook newsfeed yesterday and found that the first five posts were some of my cancer friends. One, just starting treatment was getting ready to lose her hair. Another was beginning chemo treatments for the second time. Having cancer return is hard enough, handling it when you are pregnant adds a whole new dimension. How do you sit while they put in a port without anesthesia? Sorry, but a local just doesn’t cut it…but in Cancerland you do what you have to do through the tears. Another update is from someone who has been in treatment for over a year and still has a long while to go. She is a queen of laughter. Years of treatment cannot be fun in any way, but laughter is a way to cope and not let it get to you. One more newbie found out after her surgery that only radiation will be necessary for her…as if that is a prize. Seeing “only” surgery and radiation as if it is nothing tells you a bit about the fears of this place. It may not be chemo, but it is not a walk in the park. There is a language in Cancerland and if you don’t know it when you enter, you will be immersed quite quickly. The fifth status was from a woman who is almost finished with treatment…the day you live for when you are battling cancer.
All of these statuses came from women. All have different types of cancer. All face different treatment regimens. All are strong despite the weaknesses cancer brings with it. All are trusting in God to walk beside them every step of the way, because trusting in what you cannot see is a big part of Cancerland. All of them are beautiful no matter how much hair they have or how many scars they bear. All of them are inspiring. All of them testify to God’s grace in trials. They are daughters of the most high who are resting in his love for them. I am honored to have met such women along the cancer road. I stand with them in their fight and pray from the heart that each journey would be no longer than it has to be, and that healing would come quickly. Bless you ladies.