CIMPA Conversations

Yesterday, at the chemo room, it hit me like a ton of bricks – Cancer is multicultural. It does not care what the color of your skin is, who you are or what you have done in life.

There was Sarah, born and raised in North Carolina. She moved here when her husband, an Army major, was moved to the Pentagon. She works as a TV producer.Leah was born in Taiwan, got married to a navy captain and has lived in Maryland for the past 5 years. She works for a non-profit organization. Sandra is from England but has living for 9 years with her husband, an air force officer, in Virginia. She stays at home to take care of 2 young children. Barbara is a black woman from Mississippi who moved to Washington DC when she divorced her husband of 11 years, an army sergeant. She is working for the DC government as a Program Director at the National Institute of Health. And there was me – married to an Army Colonel and has been living in Virginia for 26 years. I have been working as an independent consultant ever since I re-married and retired as Professor at Centro Escolar University and George Mason University.

The conversation was lively – centering around when we were diagnosed, the procedures we have undergone, the pain or lack thereof, medications and other snippets from our lives as cancer patients. It’s funny how easily we could talk to complete strangers about who we are on a very personal level, our deepest fears and hopes, our belief systems  and life experiences. Sarah talked about the horror and madness in Rwanda – seeing hundreds of people die around her while covering the holocaust. “I have looked death to the eye before”, she said, “but nothing can equal the fear I felt after the doctor told me “‘You have cancer”‘.

There was lively discussion of beliefs, folklores and practices related to health and medicine. Leah said, “In Palestinian tradition, if the bridegroom wears a clove of garlic in his buttonhole, he is assured a successful wedding night. Among practitioners of Auryvedic medicine, garlic is held in high regard as an aphrodisiac and for its ability to increase semen”. This drew chuckles from the group. Barbara added, “Egyptian slaves were given a daily ration of garlic, as it was believed to ward off illness and to increase strength and endurance”. To avoid diarrhea, a frequent side effect of chemotherapy, Sandra recommended boiling  young guava leaves and making it into tea.

There were no discussions of racism, multiculturalism or diversity We were just 5 women talking while hooked up to a machine dripping poison into our veins. Cancer does not care about who was black, white or brown or what you have done professionally. Neither did we.

Unfortunately, I have been diagnosed with recurrent cervical cancer. I will be posting my journal here shortly – for family, friends and other women who are fighting the same battle. Perhaps my experience will be of some help.

Take care of yourselves!

Andrea

I just got an email from a friend of 50 years – Dr. Crisologo Padilla. Forwarded. Like the many jokes many friends forward all too frequently.

Paddy woukd not have known how well this piece describes my own thoughts – coming a few hours after my oncologist hits me with the bad news that the radiologist’s report shows cancer activity and that I may have to undergo chemotherapy again.

I should be researching all the medical procedures and the hard-to-decipher terms that are in the radiologist’s report. Instead, I read Paddy’s email and cry.

REFLECTIONS of a Senior Citizen 

You know, time has a way of moving too quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years.  It seems only yesterday that I was young, just   married and embarking on my new life with my mate.

And yet in a way, it seems like eons ago,

and I wonder where all the years went.  I know that I lived them all ... and I have glimpses of how things were back then and of all my hopes and dreams.  

But, here it is ... the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise! How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go  and where did my babies go? And . where did my youth go?   

I remember well, seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that my winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like. 

But, here it is ... we're retired now and we both are turning getting gray ... we move slower and I see in us those older folks I used to see that we  never thought we'd be.

We're not in such bad  shape considering our years ... but, I see the great changes and our winter is upon us. Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore ... somedays it's mandatory because if I don't on my own free will ... I just fall asleep where I sit!

And so, now I enter into this new season of my   life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do all the things I love. 

But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I'm not sure how long it will last ... this much I know, that when it's over...its over....

Yes , I have regrets. There are things I wish   I hadn't done . things I should have done. But indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done Its all in a lifetime of living and loving.  

So, if you're not in your winter yet ... let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you ever thought possible. So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly!  Life goes by swiftly so, do what you can today, because you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not! 

You have no promise that you will see all the   seasons of your life...so, live for good today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember... 

 "Life is a gift to you. The way you live your life  is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one." 

LIVE IT WELL MY  FRIEND!!  

                       ~author unknown~